Labyrinth
by reenas-as
Summary: It was a thoughtless comment, a simple expression. How could Kagome have known the trouble it would cause?
1. Prologue: Because You Wished It

Labyrinth

Loosely base on the movie starring David Bowie.

Cast:

Inuyasha as the Goblin King

Kagome as herself (the main character of the movie)

Souta as himself (main character's little brother)

Prologue: Because You Wished It

"Arrrrgggghhhh! I HATE you Souta!" Kagome yelled the moment the door shut behind her mother.

Souta looked up quizzically from the game he was playing, "What are you shouting at _me_ for? It's not like _I_ asked you to stay home and baby-sit me." He had returned his attention to the game before he even finished speaking and Kagome found the beeps and other electronic sound effects rather irritating given her current mood.

"That is _so_ not the point!" she said angrily, marching to stand in front of him and grabbing the game. Souta made a weak sound of protest, but she steamrolled right over him, "The _point_," she expounded, "is that if mom hadn't asked me to stay and watch _you_ while _she_ went out _I_ could be at the movies with Eri and Yuka instead of stuck here with nothing to do! I swear sometimes I think life would be so much easier if you had never been born! I wish you would just GO AWAY!"

Souta, who had been attempting to grab his game back from his older sister, but was finding it difficult as she was waving her arms emphatically as she spoke, suddenly stopped cold. His mouth gaped and when Kagome looked down at him she saw his eyes darken with anger just a moment and then they were shimmering almost as though he were about to cry.

She _almost_ apologized, but she decided it really was his fault anyway.

Their gazes locked for long, tense, moments and then Souta suddenly jumped up off the couch and pushed past her without a word. She heard his feet stomping rapidly up the stairs and then the sound of his door slamming shut. Looking down at the game still in her hand she felt bad, but she wasn't about to apologize to the little twerp. After all, he _had_ ruined her evening.

Kagome tossed the gameboy on the end table and reached down to pick up her favorite novel. She settled into the couch and found her place in the beloved book. The third time through the first paragraph she tossed it down with a sigh of frustration.

Okay. Maybe she _had_ been a little harsh with Souta. He hadn't asked their mother to go out tonight. And he certainly hadn't asked to be born. But… that wasn't the point. Was it?

Trying to shove away the guilt nagging in the back of her mind Kagome grabbed the remote and flipped on the TV. TV was always good for not thinking – that was why teachers hated it so much, and why kids loved it so much. Alcohol for the underage, Kagome thought humorlessly. But after a few minutes it became obvious that even television wasn't going to numb her guilty thoughts. It was too quiet upstairs. She was beginning to worry a little.

Sighing, Kagome clicked off the TV before setting down the remote.

"Souta?" her first call was tentative as she slowly made her way up the stairs. She was trying as hard as she could to make her movements soundless, straining to hear any noise from the second story.

There wasn't any.

"Souta?" This time her call was a bit louder and colored with a bit of fear. "Souta, this isn't funny!" she practically shouted, reaching the door of his room and knocking hard. There was no answer so she pushed it open.

He wasn't inside.

Kagome's heart almost stopped. He was hiding right? Of course he was just hiding. She had hurt his feelings and he was getting back at her. That was it. It had to be.

"Souta," she stepped inside his room and started poking around, "Souta, I'm sorry, alright! Now please just come out."

Not a whisper of movement, not the sound of a breath. Fear, real and alive, gripped Kagome's throat. What if he had done something stupid? She threw a glance at the window and was relieved to find it still locked. At least he hadn't gone outside.

"I didn't mean it, Souta! You know I didn't mean it. I was just mad at mom. That's no excuse though. I'm sorry. Just please, please come back!" She sniffed, dismayed to find tears running down her cheeks. She swiped at them, but wasn't able to stop them. "Please, Souta." She whispered sinking onto his bed and hugging her knees to herself, burying her face in them. "Just be here." She whispered.

"You mean you want him back? After all the trouble I went through to get rid of him." A distinct snort, "Now that's gratitude for ya." The voice, half amused half irritated, seemed to come from everywhere at once and yet from a distance.

Kagome jumped, because she had been certain she was alone. She looked around for the source of the disembodied voice, but could see no one. Fairly certain her fear had turned her crazy, but desperate all the same, Kagome answered. "Yes! Yes, I want him back! What did you do with him?"

"Exactly what you asked." The voice had dropped about an octave, now low and husky, almost intimate, as if the speaker _cared_ for her in some way. But why would someone who cared for her take her brother?

"What are you talking about?" her gaze frantically darted around the room. That time the voice had sounded so close, as though it were right beside her. She glanced toward the window once more.

"You wished that he would go away." This time she was certain the speaker was right beside her. Whirling toward the sound she let out a startled yelp. Sitting on the edge of the bed right beside her was a man.

Well, sort of a man.

He had long white hair and golden eyes, and it looked as though he had claws instead of nails, but his most noticeable feature was a pair of furry dog ears perched atop his head. One of those ears twitched with annoyance.

"Oi! Would you knock that off, wench. My ears are sensitive you know." That yelp had been killer on his doggie ears.

"Sorry- sorry." Kagome whispered, eyes raking over him as if trying to figure out if he were real. Slowly her hand reached out to touch his arm. Finding her fingers contact with hard flesh she shrieked and hastily pulled back, almost toppling off the bed with the sudden movement.

"Ow! I thought we agreed you wouldn't do that anymore." He snapped, reaching a hand up to rub the offended appendage even as he steadied her with the other.

Kagome gave a weak nod, her eyes wide with fright. "Y-you're real. Wh- who are you?" she whispered, "_what_ are you? What are you doing here? What did you do with my brother?" each question was a little louder and came a little faster as her sluggish thoughts became lucid and then frantic.

"You gonna stop so I can answer any of those?" the stranger asked, and Kagome would have taken issue with the sarcasm in his tone if she hadn't been so absolutely afraid. "My name is Inuyasha, I'm the goblin king, I'm half human and half inu-youkai, I'm here because I want to be, and I did with your brother exactly what you wished to be done." Her eyes widened at the implication and she shuddered as he leaned closer to stare in her eyes, "I made him go away."

The look in his eyes was strange, not at all what she would have expected. It was as if this man knew her … as if he had _feelings_ for her, but Kagome didn't have time to dwell on that as his final words sunk in.

"You what?" She forgot about his ears again and he threw her a sullen look which she ignored. "Where is he you – you freak!"

He bristled, "I'm not gonna talk to you if you're going to be insulting." He said testily, crossing his arms over his chest and turning away from her.

Realizing that upsetting him would only keep her further from reaching Souta, Kagome forced herself to calm down. Finally she spoke in the most mature voice she could muster, "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have called you names. But – what did you mean when you said you made him go away?"

He relaxed a little, shrugging, "Just what it sounds like. I made him go away."

Kagome had to fight the urge to scream at him again, but she managed to remain calm, "Where did you take him?"

"To my home. He won't bother you ever again."

"But, why?" she was starting to get exasperated, he wasn't making any sense!

He turned to face her, and her breath caught at the look in his eyes. Tenderly he reached a clawed hand to trace down her cheek and then along her jaw before whispering his answer. "Because you wished it…"

* * *

A/N: Wow, it's been forever since I last posted here. Sorry about that. But I return with another Inuyasha fiction! It's so loosely based on the movie Labyrinth that it's almost as bad as Miyazaki's version of Howl's Moving Castle. Don't get me wrong- that was the most awesome movie, but it was so far from the book I don't see how they had the right to say it was based on it… except for the green slime thing…

Well, enjoy. And if you haven't forgotten me, a review or two would be nice

Reenas-as


	2. Into the Labyrinth

Chapter 1: Into the Labyrinth

"I _what_?" she was aghast.

"You wished it." He repeated, pulling back to a comfortable distance.

"No," she shook her head vehemently, "I didn't."

"Yes, you did. You said," at this he tilted his voice, flipping his hair in a vague impression of a teenage girl and bringing his voice to a higher pitch, "'I wish you would just GO AWAY!'" When he finished he resumed his earlier pose, staring at her pointedly as if daring her to deny it.

She couldn't.

"Alright," she agreed, "I _said_ it. But I obviously didn't _mean_ it. I mean, he's my brother! He annoys me, but I love him."

"Oh…" Inuyasha looked away, shifting slightly as though he were uncomfortable.

Kagome gave a half smile, glad to have made her point, and settled back down on the bed, folding her hands primly in her lap. "So… may I have him back now?"

That squirm again. It was starting to make her uneasy, "About that…" he trailed off, glancing at her from the corner of his eye before shifting so that his back was fully to her, "No." the last word was spoken quietly, muffled as his chin dropped to his chest.

"What did you say?"

"No! No, you can't have him back!" his shout was defensive, and his ears had flattened against his head.

Kagome was in shock – shock that was quickly replaced by irritation. For a moment she forgot about the fact that he had claws instead of nails, forgot the fangs she had seen gleam when he spoke, forgot that from the looks of this guy he could probably bench press two of her, right now he was standing between her and her little brother and her own safety be hanged she was going to find him! Kagome grabbed the 'goblin king', or whatever he actually was, by the shoulders and jerked him around to face her. Sticking her face mere inches from him she ground out, "what do you mean 'no'? Give him back you jerk!"

He just stared at her, overwhelmed by her proximity, and then shook himself, pulling out of her grasp. "I _can't_!"

"And why the heck not!" she had risen to her feet, yelling down at him. Feeling at a distinct disadvantage, despite her fragile frame, he quickly stood as well, forcing her to step back or be knocked over.

"Because – because! I don't know why!" he growled in frustration, raking strong, sculpted hands through his hair, "I just… can't." he finished weakly.

Kagome was near frantic, "You _can't_? There has to be _something_ you can do! I mean, you took him! You can get him back!"

He shook his head, his eyes clouded over, "I can't. It isn't possible because…" his voice fell to a murmur again, "he's in the Labyrinth." He winced as he spoke the last word, as if expecting her to strike him.

Kagome was confused. Obviously he expected this to be some kind of huge revelation… but it meant nothing to her. "So?" she asked in confusion.

"So?" he looked incredulous, "so, no one just _leaves_ the Labyrinth. It isn't possible. Someone has to go _get_ him."

"Then go get him!" she demanded.

"_I_ can't go get him! It has to be someone who wants him back. Someone who cares about him. It will have to be," he paused, wincing once more, "it would have to be…"

"Me." She breathed, her chest tightening. "I have to go?"

He nodded mournfully.

"Can you come with me?"

He looked up at her, startled.

"Not that I _want_ you to go with me," she hastily corrected, "it's just that I don't know anything about the labyrinth… and… you do."

His gaze, confused a moment before, was suddenly stony. "No." he said shortly. "I can't go with you. I can't help you, and I wouldn't if I could!"

"Why not?" she asked, exasperated.

"Because the last time I did what you wanted you got mad at me! And I don't like it when you're mad at me! So you can do this on your own – and if you ever decide what it is you _actually want_, come and see me at the center of the Labyrinth." And then he was gone and Kagome was left to stare at the spot in which he had last stood in utter confusion.

What exactly did all of _that_ mean? Why did he care what she wanted, and why did he talk as if he knew her? And what did he mean he would be in the center of the labyrinth? Then she remembered his earlier comment about her brother being in his home.

He _lived_ in the _labyrinth_!

And he _still_ wouldn't help her.

As she stood there fuming and trying to figure out how she was going to save her brother by herself she suddenly realized something very important.

"You _JERK_! I don't even know how to _find_ the labyrinth!" she could have sworn she heard a distinct snort, and then she was falling…

* * *

Kagome reflected that she _did not_ enjoy the sensation of falling. At all. But, as it turned out, that was irrelevant, because mere moments after she thought this she landed with an abrupt thump.

"Great, just great." She muttered, pushing herself to her feet and attempting to brush off her backside. All around her was sand and scraggly brush, and the sun was shining too brightly though it wasn't overly hot. "Just how I wanted to spend my evening."

"Is it now?" a voice inquired pleasantly, "Well, you're a strange kid. But – different strokes for different folks, as I always say."

Kagome whirled around in confusion but, once again, saw no one. This was becoming an annoyingly frequent event.

"Who said that?"

"I did."

Kagome looked around once more, but all she could see was a wall. And a gate with a huge knocker.

"Where are you?" she tried a different angle.

"Right in front of you."

And the only reason this helped her at all was that she happened to be staring right at the gate when the words were spoken. Kagome stepped closer cautiously because she was almost certain that the door knocker had just spoken to her.

"Umm… who are you?" Kagome was feeling just a little silly. After all, she was talking to a door.

"The gate to the Labyrinth."

"Oh," Kagome looked around uncertainly, but then she decided this might be a rare stroke of luck. After all, she did need to get into the labyrinth. She took a step forward, only to be halted by the voice of the gate.

"And where do you think you're going?" it asked crossly.

"Inside?" she asked hopefully.

"Hn! Not likely!" the gate told her.

Kagome took a step back and crossed her arms, glaring at it, "And why not?"

"You don't just _walk_ in the gate to labyrinth city!"

"But isn't that what gates are for?" she asked, confused. "I mean, gates open to let people in to someplace."

"No. They close to keep people _out_." The gate corrected primly.

Kagome was a bit nonplussed. "Well, then how do I get in?" she finally asked.

"You don't." it answered shortly and then clamped its brass lips firmly shut.

It took Kagome several moments to comprehend this last statement, and when she did she was not pleased. "What do you mean, I _don't_?" she demanded. "I need to get in there!"

The gate did not acknowledge her.

Kagome fumed. This night was going from bad to worse.

Kagome took a deep breath and counted backwards from ten. "Please let me in?" she asked sweetly.

The gate gave a fairly decent imitation of shaking its head. This time Kagome counted backwards from twenty.

"Why not?" she asked through clenched teeth.

And the gate – the gate had the audacity to stick its brass tongue through brass lips and blow her a raspberry!

Her jaw nearly dropped. "Fine then you- you – brass trimmed two year- old! I'll find another way in!" and away she stomped.

"Stupid… can't believe it did that… of all the… immature little… hate this day…" Kagome muttered to herself as she followed around the wall. After several minutes she stopped. She didn't seem to be getting any closer to the corner of the wall. Deciding to test this theory she deliberately kept her eye trained on the corner and counted her steps forward. After four hundred steps it was just as far away as ever. Turning around she stomped back toward her starting point at the center gate and was surprised to see that she actually made it there and from that point the corner was further than it had been. She decided that maybe the wall only moved in one direction, so she tried heading toward the other corner, but after the first hundred yards or so she realized that though she was getting further from the center, she was no closer to the end.

Frustrated she stomped back to the gate. Glaring at the gate, which had its eyes closed, she stuck out her tongue. "I hate you." She told it emotionlessly. The gate chose to ignore her.

After a few moments, in which her mind conjured up some fantastical but impossible methods of forcing the gate to let her in, she sat down in a huff and crossed her arms. Then she just stared at the gate. After several minutes it opened one eye and rolled it sideways to look at her.

"Stop staring at me."

Kagome almost smirked, "I'm not staring at you. Go away." She told it.

The gate opened its other eye so that it could roll them both. "Whatever." And then the eyes were closed again and she was being ignored.

Kagome was a little disappointed that the gate was not more affected by her obvious ire.

"Stupid door." She muttered before pulling her knees up and folding her arms over them. She let her chin fall to rest on her hands and fell into silence. For a very long time she just sat there staring at the gate. She wasn't thinking, although she knew she should have been working on a plan. She just couldn't seem to focus on anything. So she didn't. She just sat, staring ahead at the gate.

After what must have been half an hour a small turtle-esque creature drudged listlessly by her. It approached the gate silently and stopped before it. The gate swung open soundlessly and the creature wearily continued its journey inside. The gate swung closed again with a loud click.

Kagome sat up sharply, the sudden movement jarring her back, "You just let him in!" she said accusingly.

"Of course," the gate said, its tone giving her the impression of a casual shrug. At least it was looking at her again.

"B-but - why!" she sputtered.

The gate looked at her as though she had lost her mind, "because he didn't _want_ to get in, obviously."

"Now what kind of sense does _that_ make?" Kagome snapped.

"Perfect sense." The gate answered smugly. Then closed its eyes, apparently intent on ignoring her once more.

Kagome just gaped at it. What kind of crazy place was this?

She tilted her head, thinking. Casually she approached the gate, which opened one eye to watch her suspiciously.

"I don't want in." Kagome said, clasping her hands behind her back.

The gate laughed, "Of course you do."

She shook her head, "No, really, I don't."

The gate seemed to consider this, and then it smiled unpleasantly, "Good. Then go away." It closed its eyes firmly once more, clearly dismissing her.

Kagome opened her mouth to protest, and then closed it soundlessly. She turned and stomped a few steps away and then let out a frustrated shout. She could have sworn the gate laughed at her, but when she whipped around it remained impassive. Kagome glared at it for a moment before stomping off toward the far corner. She had wasted enough time today.

Not that trying to get around the wall had done much good before. She shook her head, trying to think clearly. So maybe she couldn't reach the corner, but she might be able to climb over the wall. Of course, she wasn't about to try it in front of that wretched gate and have it laugh at her all day.

When she was far enough away that she could no longer see the gate Kagome looked around nervously. Seeing no one she got right up against the wall and raised her arms over her head. It was no good. Even on tiptoe she couldn't reach the top. She gave a few futile hops, but then realized she was never going to be able to grasp the lip of the wall. It had to be _at least_ ten feet tall.

That didn't mean she could stop trying though. She had to get her brother back _before_ their mother got home.

Gathering her courage, and her breath, she stepped back and then ran toward the wall, springing into the air at the last moment. All she gained was a sore nose and scuffed palms. Still, she couldn't give up, so she backed up once more.

Before she could start towards the wall again a voice interrupted her.

"It's no use." The voice had a roughly British lilt to it. Kagome should have been shocked – she had thought she was alone - but she was becoming fairly used to this by now and she didn't even bother looking for the speaker before responding.

"Do tell?" she asked sarcastically.

"No, no, won't do a bit of good," the voice continued, as if she hadn't just insulted it, "You'll just have to feel your way through."

"_Feel_ my way through?" she asked incredulously, "What are you - a jedi?"

"Yessir, that's the only answer to the Labyrinth." The speaker may as well have been deaf for all the attention it paid to her.

Kagome, for her part, was getting frustrated. "Will you quite saying that?" she snapped, "I don't know what you mean."

"Just feel your way-"

"Will you just shut-" Kagome's angry comment was cut off abruptly by her startled yelp as she attempted to bang the wall in frustration and instead fell through it.

Confused she looked hastily to either side as she righted herself.

"Tell me it wasn't that easy!" she groaned.

"But it was." The voice of the creature chortled gleefully.

She turned to snap at it and realized that she could see out into the wilderness she had come from.

"What the?" she reached out and her hand passed through the space. Moving her hand to the wall that she could see on either side of the gap she found it to be very solid.

"Just an illusion." She whispered.

"Much more to the labyrinth than meets the eye." The creature sing-songed in its broken accent, "slight of hand and trick of the mind's eye!" it continued.

Kagome didn't bother responding. She just headed down the labyrinth wall, now feeling for openings along the wall which would lead her further in, and praying she would reach no dead ends.

* * *

The further Kagome traveled into the Labyrinth, the more familiar it became. And it wasn't just that she had seen the same pattern of stone for what felt like days. Kagome was beginning to recognize the _story_. It was "Labyrinth", one of her favorite movies. In fact, it had been the one she was watching before she had gone up to check on Souta. Granted there were a few differences. Inuyasha was no David Bowie. But the overall plot seemed to be the same. Once she recognized this fact she felt more confident. Maybe all she had to do was remember the movie and she could get through this.

Unfortunately she hadn't seen the movie in some years and she'd only been about ten minutes into it tonight when she had shut it off. Her memory was a bit hazy. Besides, she already knew it wasn't an exact mock up.

Still, the pitfalls seemed to be similar, if she could just remember them before she got to them…

"Hmmmmmmmmmmm…"

Kagome didn't jump at the voice that came from nowhere. What was the point? Voices coming from nowhere seemed par for the course in this place. So Kagome just kept walking.

But when the voice started laughing Kagome got a little upset. And who could blame her? She had wanted to spend the evening in a cinema with friends; instead she was tromping through a crazy, mixed-up, quite possibly dangerous, and certainly very hot and stuffy, maze. She was tired, thirsty, hungry, irritated, and probably looked like she'd endured the better part of a sandstorm. Kagome was not in a good mood. And having someone laugh at her was not making her feel any better.

"What is your problem!" she snapped, abruptly coming to a halt.

"Problem?" the voice questioned with amusement, "I don't have a problem. What's _your_ problem?"

"I don't _have _a problem!" she said tersely. Alright, so that wasn't entirely true. In fact, it wasn't even _remotely_ true. Kagome had problems coming out of her ears, but she wasn't about to tell that to the voice from nowhere.

"I think you're lying!" she could hear the grin in that sing-song tone. And then she didn't have to hear it, because she could see it too.

Only, that was _all_ she could see.

There in front of her, floating just above eye level was a grinning set of… teeth.

Kagome almost groaned in frustration. Planting her hands on her hips she tilted her head to one side and asked sarcastically, "Isn't that the wrong movie? I don't do the whole 'Alice in Wonderland' thing."

The grin faded a bit and bit by bit a whole body appeared. With a small pop noise the whole creature was suddenly visible and flipped onto the ground.

"Sorry." It apologized, "I couldn't help myself. I love that story!"

Kagome was momentarily stunned. The creature before her appeared to be a very young child. His auburn hair was pulled back in a short ponytail high on his head, and he wore feudal era clothing. At first glance he almost looked human, but then one noticed the way his ears came to a point at the top, and if one looked further down (which wasn't difficult as he was probably all of two feet tall) one would notice tiny fox feet, and a tail of a different kind altogether than the one on his head. Clearly the child was a kitsune – a fox demon.

"If you're just going to stare at me all day, I'm leaving." The child groused, and Kagome shook herself.

"Sorry." She attempted a smile, "you surprised me a little."

The kit rolled his eyes, "Well, obviously." In one quick movement he had leaped onto her shoulder and grasped the cloth of her shirt, "I'm Shippo! I'm an orphan. Who are you?"

Once again caught off guard Kagome struggled to look at the little demon clinging to her back.

"I'm Kagome, and I'm looking for someone."

"Who?" he asked curiously, peering closely at her face.

"Umm… my little brother." She confessed.

"Can I come?" he sounded hopeful.

"Why would you want to?"

He thought about this for a moment before chirping, "I'm bored!"

Kagome considered him. He seemed to know something about this place. At least, he didn't look confused, but he was just a kid…

He must have seen her uncertainty because he suddenly adopted a pleading expression, "Please! I'll be good. I won't whine, or complain, and I know all about this place! Like how there's a dog-eared guy who lives in a castle at the middle of the Labyrinth, and a-"

"Wait," with some difficulty Kagome held up a hand between them, "You've seen the center of the Labyrinth?"

"I can help you." He insisted.

That sealed it. If the kid had been to the center of the Labyrinth he could help her get to it.

"You help me get through this maze and you can stay as long as you like." Kagome told him, "Deal?" she stuck out her hand to shake and he took it.

"Deal." He grinned and then hopped off her shoulder and started running before her, "You won't regret this!" he called over his shoulder.

Kagome shook her head with a small smile and followed after him. It was not until much later that she remembered he had never _really_ answered her question about seeing the center of the labyrinth. And she would indeed regret it.

* * *

A/N: No reviews… okay, well, that's never stopped me before Please review and let me know what you think.

reenas-as


	3. In Case You've Forgotten

Chapter 2: In Case You've Forgotten

"Are we there yet?"

Kagome looked a little up and a little behind her to eye the fox kit sitting on her shoulder. "_You're_ the one who knows where we're going – you tell me."

"Ah ha," Shippo gave a nervous laugh, "Right."

Kagome's eyes narrowed in suspicion, "You _do_ know where we're going, _right_?"

A small hand reached up to rub bushy auburn hair, "ummm… about that…"

Kagome clenched her teeth and reminded herself firmly that he was just a child, "You _did_ say that you knew the way to the center of the labyrinth." She reminded him.

Another nervous laugh and the kit's eyes were sliding away from hers, "Did I say that?"

"Shippo-" the last syllable trailed warningly.

"Actually," he began defensively, "I never said I knew the way to the center of the Labyrinth. I said I knew there was a castle in the middle and then you asked if I knew how to get there and I said I could help…"

"Implying that you _knew_ how to _get there!_" she snapped in frustration.

"Implying that I know about the Labyrinth." He corrected. "And I do! I can still help you." He cast her a pleading look, "Don't make me go away."

Staring at him Kagome found her anger fading away. _Yes_, he had misled her, and _yes_, she had a right to be angry. But he was just a kid, all alone in this crazy place. And, to be fair, he had already helped her avoid quite a few traps. She reached up a hand, pausing when he flinched, and placed it gently on top of his head.

"I won't send you away, Shippo." She put on her best "mother" face and tone before continuing, "But from now on I want total honesty."

The kit nodded frantically and Kagome had to turn her face away to hide her smile.

He really was a cute kid.

Which didn't bring her any closer to her goal. Kagome sighed wearily. "Which way, Shippo?"

His face scrunched up in apparent concentration and he seemed to struggle a bit within himself before answering, "I think we take a right up ahead."

She reached up to tweak his pointed ear and smiled, just to let him know it was okay, "And why do you think that?"

He shrugged, "It feels… bad."

Her nose wrinkled. Great. It felt "bad". Why did that not reassure her? Oh, wait – maybe because "bad" was a _bad thing!_

At least he hadn't said "evil". Evil was far worse than "bad". But bad wasn't much better. Bad meant trouble, it meant dangerous, it meant traps and monsters and a dozen other things she didn't want to think about. Taking a deep breath she reminded herself that this was for Souta. She could do this because she had to save him.

Shippo was watching her, so she put on a cheerful smile and gave a firm nod. "Alright then, right it is. But you'll have to help me watch for traps."

The kit smiled back at her and nodded. "Of course, 'cause you're helpless," he eyed her sideways, "you know that, right?"

She gave a small laugh, "Yep. I know that."

And she did. Everything about this place confused her. There was no discernable pattern, no way of guessing what would happen next, and the further in she went the further it deviated from her beloved movie. That was a very bad thing. But, she hadn't been injured yet, and Shippo usually managed to spring any trap long before they reached it using his fox magic. All in all it was going far better than she expected. In fact, she was almost relaxed. Of course, that brought on problems in and of itself. The calmer she became the more she started to notice other things – like the fact that she hadn't eaten dinner that night. And it had to have been… well, a long time since lunch.

She didn't know exactly how long. It had been dark at home when she had left, but it had been daylight in the Labyrinth. In fact, it seemed to always be daylight, always the _same time of day_ in the Labyrinth and the surrounding lands. She supposed that was really the only way that first illusion would work. Otherwise the shadows would give it away. She briefly wondered how that was possible. But then, nothing in this place should have been possible. Besides, it didn't matter what time of day the Labyrinth thought it was, her stomach thought it was time to eat. As if to affirm this observation it let out a loud grumble.

"Hey Shippo?" the boy looked at her expectantly, "You wouldn't happen to have any food, would you?" she asked hopefully.

"Of course!" he chirped. "Only a fool travels the Labyrinth without provisions." He shot her an uneasy glance, "Uh… not that _you're_ a fool, Kagome." He assured her hastily

Kagome shrugged it off. "I didn't exactly know I was coming here." She told him. "It just kind of happened."

"Oh," nodding he jumped off her shoulder and looked around. "This looks like a safe spot."

She looked around in confusion, "A safe spot for what?"

He rolled his eyes, "To stop and eat of course!"

Kagome blinked at him stupidly, "you mean you have food _here_?" she gasped, "_Now?_"

"Well, duh." He replied, "otherwise I wouldn't be looking for a safe place to stop and eat it." He crossed his arms and smiled at her. In a quick movement he thrust his hands into the sleeves of his traditional kimono top and with a puff of smoke there was a picnic laid out before them, complete with a blanket and basket and dishes!

"Oh, Shippo!" Kagome looked at it all in wonder, "That's amazing!" eagerly she sat down and started digging through the contents of the picnic basket. "riceballs, and pickles … and are those-" she squealed in delight, hugging the item to her chest, "they are! Donuts! I can't believe you have donuts!"

"Just don't ask where I got them," Shippo muttered, coming to sit beside her. He perked up as he watched her, "So, you like this stuff?" he asked eagerly.

Kagome nodded with enthusiasm, already tearing open the package of donuts.

Shippo sweatdropped, "Um, shouldn't you be eating the real food first?"

Kagome shot him a glare over her donuts, "What are you, my mother? I'll get to them."

"O-kay…" Shippo shook his head as he reached for a rice ball. Some people were just plain weird.

* * *

Deep in the heart of the Labyrinth Inuyasha sat on his throne. It was an uncomfortable throne, made completely of stone. He hated sitting on it… it made him squirm. Before him was a crystal ball. He knew it was cliché, but hey, why knock something that worked so well? In the crystal ball a peaceful scene played out before him. The girl, Kagome, was sitting on the ground, her legs stretched out before her, leaning back on her arms. She was smiling and laughing with a young kit. She looked so peaceful and content, her eyes closed, face raised toward the sun. She was starting to relax. 

His fist clenched, blood running down his knuckles as the claws punctured his skin. He couldn't have that. If she was relaxed she would get sloppy. If she was sloppy she would get killed. And he couldn't allow that. The Labyrinth could have its way with the others, but _not her!_ He would just have to remind her how dangerous this place really was

* * *

Impromptu picnic over Kagome and Shippo started on their way once more. Cleanup had been a breeze with Shippo around. A snap of his fingers and the whole thing reverted to a little leaf which he slipped back into his billowing sleeves. Kagome watched him in wonder. 

"That's amazing." She remarked. "Did you train for all of that?"

The kit smiled. "Pure natural talent." He quipped, but then his face fell, "my parents didn't have time to teach me anything before…"

Kagome frowned, disappointed in her own thoughtlessness. Shippo was an orphan; he had told her so at the very start. Usually he seemed fine with it, almost casual, but she had seen that pained look in his eyes a few times already. The best thing she could think to do was take his mind off of it.

"So," her voice was too bright, but she doubted he even noticed, "pure talent huh? Wish I had talent like that. Snap of the fingers and my messy room becomes a maple leaf!"

Shippo shook his head, "Doesn't work like that," he said, taking on a childish tone of importance, "You have to make it from a leaf for it to turn back into one."

Kagome stopped to stare at him, "Make it from a leaf." She repeated slowly.

The kit, realizing his mistake, took a nervous step backwards, "Ahha… what I mean to say is… well, you see…" shoot, there just wasn't any way to make it better. "Umm… all fox magic is based on illusion and…"

"Are you telling me I just ate leaves?" she interrupted, a little angry.

"N-no!" he stammered, backing up until he felt the wall behind him. He knew better than to inch along it, but it was still tempting. "You see, the blanket and the, uh… the other things were fox magic. But they're real enough when you use them. The food was one hundred percent natural though! " he added quickly, "I just pulled it from its hiding place. That's all."

"Ah, huh." Kagome still didn't look particularly convinced and Shippo gave a nervous smile.

Kagome propped her hands on her hips, "Shippo?" she asked too sweetly, a false smile plastered on her face, "There wouldn't happen to be anything _else_ about your life and talents that you've forgotten to mention to me, would there?"

Shippo shook his head, "Absolute honesty, right?" he asked meekly.

"Right…" she drew the word out speculatively, approaching him slowly. "Ever hear of the sin of omission?" she asked, bending down in front of him, but now there was a teasing glint in her eye.

Shippo shook his head, darting his eyes to the side as though looking for a way out.

"Well, I'll just have to punish you." She told him. It was all the warning he got before she reached out and began to tickle him.

"S-stop it!" he gasped between laughs, rolling on the floor in an effort to get away.

She was grinning, "Not until you apologize."

"Never!" he gasped.

She shrugged, "Suit yourself." And the tickling continued with renewed ferocity. Finally Shippo could take it no more.

"I give! I give! I'm sorry!" he shouted, tears of laughter streaming down his face.

"Good." Kagome immediately pulled her hands away. Slowly the kit pushed himself up, regaining his breath and straightening his rumpled clothing and hair. As he fought to brush the dust away he gave her a mock scowl.

"That was real mature." He told her.

"Who ever said I was mature?" she asked with a smile, but then the smile faded as she recalled a similar incident with Souta. Souta… she wondered if he were alright in this crazy place.

Shippo came up beside her, placing a small hand on her arm, "You're thinking about your brother huh?"

She nodded, "I have to find him." She whispered.

"Don't worry, you will." He pulled at her hand, "But not by sitting here. Let's go."

Collecting herself, Kagome stood and followed the young fox deeper into the Labyrinth. They had made two turns when they skidded to an abrupt halt. Something was blocking their path. Cautiously Kagome approached it. It appeared to be a statue of a bird. A very large bird.

"Kagome…" Shippo whispered, clearly wanting her not to get closer. She waved a hand to silence him and moved still closer.

"You should let me." The kit insisted. Kagome cast him a skeptical look.

"Right," she whispered, and for a moment wondered why she bothered, but she continued in subdued tones, "You're shaking in your fur."

"I… I am not!" Shippo's shaky reply belied the statement.

"Relax." She told him, "it'll be fine. See it's just a – Ahhhhhhh!" her statement quickly morphed into a scream as she reached to touch the "statue" and found it to be warm and alive.

Soon Shippo's voice joined hers in a yell and then she was being pushed back and the kit yelled "Foxfire!" before letting loose a barrage of blue flames that surrounded the large bird.

"Hey now," it drawled pleasantly, "cut that out. That isn't any way to greet someone."

Shippo stopped and stared at the creature, "Who are you?" he asked suspiciously, backing away from it and toward Kagome.

It turned to face them with a strange smile – or, at least, Kagome presumed that was what passed for a smile among birds.

"I have no name that you could pronounce." This fact didn't seem to bother the bird at all, "but that is not important. Walk with me and I will teach you." He – at least, it _sounded_ male so that's how Kagome thought of it – made a motion with a wing, as though beckoning them. Kagome and Shippo glanced at each other, but in the end they came up beside him.

"Ask me questions and I will give you enlightenment, so long as we walk the same path." The bird continued, and Kagome nearly rolled her eyes. Who did this guy think he was? Buddah?

"Answers you will find."

… Or maybe Yoda…

"Ummm…" Kagome wasn't quite certain how to deal with this new development, "we don't need any answers. Not really."

The bird moved one eye to look at her, "No? No questions about the Labyrinth? About its origins, about its traps?"

"You know about that stuff?" Kagome was careful to keep her enthusiasm in check. After all, even Shippo had misled her, no telling what this stranger would do.

"Indeed. The Labyrinth was built by the brother of the Goblin King over six hundred years ago."

Despite herself Kagome was interested, "Someone built this place? Well, that's a relief. The way things were going I half expected to hear that it grew here all on its own."

The bird nodded sagely, "it has done that as well."

Now Kagome was skeptical, "Riiiight…" She threw a look at Shippo, who only shrugged. He was just a kid, he knew practical things about surviving the Labyrinth, but he'd never really cared how it came to be.

"The Labyrinth was deadly, but simple enough, when the Lord Sesshoumaru created it, but over the centuries it has taken on a life all its own."

"Sesshoumaru?" Kagome gulped, feeling uneasy, "Doesn't that mean 'perfect killer' or something like that?"

"Killing Perfection." The bird agreed.

"Great." Came the unenthusiastic response. If that was what the guy's _name_ meant, she could only imagine what other nasty surprises the Labyrinth might have in store for her. Her attention was drawn back to her companions as an interesting point was brought to light.

"Was it built to keep people out of the castle?" Shippo asked curiously.

"No, it was built to keep Inuyasha in."

"Didn't do a very good job." Kagome muttered darkly, remembering the shock of finding him in her brother's room. Definitely not a good job. In fact, she'd say it was a fairly terrible job.

Their companion cast a surreptitious glance at her. "The Lord despised his half brother and he wanted him to suffer alone. But Inuyasha had inherited the title of the Demon King, from his father, and there was little Sesshoumaru could do about it."

"Demon King?" Kagome started, "I thought he said he was the goblin king?" she realized that they were staring at her oddly and trailed off, "oh, never mind…"

"You realize of course, that the word was one and the same in the old tongue." The bird expounded. "It is all a matter of semantics really, but I would imagine the boy thinks of himself more as one of the hideous monsters the name goblin brings to mind than the graceful and powerful demons who were his ancestors."

"Boy?" Kagome scoffed, "You just told us that he had been here for over six hundred years."

"Nothing to a demon, even a hanyou."

"Oh," she remarked meekly, still unsure that it made sense to call a six century old demon a _boy_.

"Even kitsune live over a thousand years," Shippo told her, as if every school child should know this, "and inuyoukai live much longer. I heard the King's brother is over two millennia old…"

"Two millennia," Kagome was in shock, but she was also a little peeved, "You would think after a millennia and a half he could get one little thing right…" she said sourly.

Again she had to reign herself in as she noticed the looks on the faces of her companions. The old man was starting to get a speculative look and she didn't want people to know that Inuyasha had apparently escaped his bondage to appear in her house.

"It is said that in all that time the King was never able to get out of his castle… until recently when he just started… disappearing, sometimes for minutes, sometimes for days."

"Bet that doesn't make his brother happy. "Shippo observed.

The old bird shrugged, "I doubt he cares. He seems to have forgotten the existence of this place. Besides, he _is_ the one who built in the way of escape." Another knowing glance at Kagome. This was making her decidedly uncomfortable. She decided to change the subject before she found out something she didn't want to know.

"So," she kicked at the ground with her foot, "If Inuyasha is the younger brother, how come he inherited the title from his father?"

"Sesshoumaru didn't care."

Her head snapped up, "If he didn't care then, why does he care now? Why punish his brother over something he never wanted?"

The bird chuckled, "Now, did I say Sesshoumaru locked Inuyasha away _because_ he had the title? No," he shook his head, "Sesshoumaru locked him away because he detested his humanity."

_:great:_ Kagome thought darkly_:a murdering psycho who hates humans… and he designed this place? I am so dead:_ she was getting a sinking feeling about all of this.

"And he detested his brother's inability to _face_ that humanity."

Shippo scrunched his nose, and obvious implication that he was confused, "What does that mean?"

"Inuyasha insisted on pretending he was full demon. He refused to acknowledge his human heritage and insisted that he would find a way to eradicate all traces of it. This led to his search for a dangerous and powerful item which caused much havoc in the land. It was for this Sesshoumaru hated him most. It is the most unforgivable weakness not to be able to accept oneself and change one's weakness into strength. Sesshoumaru hated this weakness in his brother. And he believed this would be the best way to cure Inuyasha of it."

"Huh?" now Kagome was lost as well, and she had a feeling this was circling back around to whatever it was she didn't want to know.

"Let's just say that the only way for Inuyasha to leave this place is for him to embrace his humanity," the bird smiled strangely at her, "and considering he has managed to leave on several occasions in the last year or so…"

Kagome hated the implication in his tone and cast about her mind for a way to redirect the conversation, "So… uh… if Sesshoumaru never cared about the title, why did you say he couldn't do anything about it? I mean, doesn't that imply that he _wanted_ to do something about it?"

The old timer gave her a look that said he knew what she was about, but he followed her lead, "Sesshoumaru did not realize that his brother's status would allow the entrance of demons into this place, and into the castle at its center. The power that came with the title made a small hole in his flawless plan. Inuyasha _could not_ be completely alone. "The bird waved a wing, "necessities of title and properties of magic which would not make sense to you as they do not exist in your world. Sufficed to say Sesshoumaru had had no need of the title, which was why it held little interest for him."

"In actuality 'Demon King' was just one of the titles his father held, and was incomplete in itself. The true power rested with the son who was The Taisho - the demon leader. It was left to Sesshoumaru to protect the lands, and hold onto them. The Demon King only holds power over those who submit to his will. It is a magic power, an authority over the skills of others, a title of respect, but not of action. It dealt with the court and the castle. The power to create laws, but not to enforce them. And, in all honesty, neither brother wanted the position, but their father knew that if he divided the titles between them they would be inextricably bound to one another."

"Smart guy." Kagome observed, relieved that the old guy had stopped looking at her.

"Indeed," he agreed, "Sesshoumaru did not realize this before he sealed Inuyasha in this place. Because the brothers are two halves of one whole, two parts of a complete ruler as it were, there will always be an opening when they are apart."

Kagome was starting to understand, and she wasn't sure if that made her feel better or worse. "So the only way Sesshoumaru could truly seal Inuyasha would be to seal himself with him."

"And Sesshoumaru would never do that."

"Which means there is always a bond between Inuyasha and the outside world, a hole." Realization dawned, "A… I guess you could call it a Sesshoumaru shaped hole. Which is why other demons can get in – as long as they are even the slightest bit similar to Sesshoumaru… the, the _title_ is waiting for him to come back, to make it whole again."

The old bird nodded, "You catch on quick. So Sesshoumaru had defeated himself before he even began. You see, only demons can get in. And as long as Inuyasha has demon companions… he will never seek out human ones."

Kagome looked down at her feet again, "What good would it have done for him to be alone anyway? I mean, you just said that only demons could get in. And that was just an oversight on Sesshoumaru's part, right?"

"Did I say that?" the old bird chuckled again, "Inuyasha has a single portal to the outside world - to the _human_ world. It allows him to see, but not touch. And Inuyasha may _allow_ _humans_ to enter the labyrinth, and even the castle. " He smiled at her, "And I've already told you that there are conditions under which he can leave. Conditions that apply to the human world and certain feelings toward-"

"I get it!" Kagome cut him off abruptly, "I get it." She repeated more quietly. And the bird looked vaguely sympathetic, and maybe even a little sorry. That didn't make her feel any better though.

"Well, I don't get it." Shippo scowled in confusion.

Absently Kagome reached up on her shoulder to pat his head, "You will… someday." She couldn't look into the bird's eyes. And after a few moments of uneasy silence it spoke.

"Well… I guess I'll leave you be now. I am but a wanderer after all. Glad I could be of some help to you travelers. Now it is time I went to impart my wisdom to others. You two be careful now. We've had it easy the last while, but this is a dangerous place, in case you've forgotten." And he went on his way.

Kagome looked up to watch him leave, still caught up in the implications of what he had said. An instant later all such thoughts were forgotten. The bird was walking, slowly, ponderously ahead. And without warning a blade sliced out from the Labyrinth wall. Kagome cringed and turned her face away, but she knew from the sound that the bird's head had been severed from its body.

"Um, I think we shouldn't go that way." Shippo said in a very small voice. Listlessly Kagome nodded, but wondered what the point was. This place had been designed as a death trap, and it had only gotten worse since then. Was there any safe path?

* * *

Inuyasha watched the scene with satisfaction. Slowly he stood and approached the crystal ball, allowing a clawed hand to caress it softly, as he had touched Kagome's face that night in her room. He stared at her image with a strange softness. 

It was completely silent in the large hall. Inuyasha did not enjoy company in his throne room. This was his fortress of solitude. He enjoyed nothing more than the quietness of the vast and empty hall. A servant came to the doorway; she made no sound, but he knew she was there; carelessly he waved her away keeping his eyes on the crystal ball. And then the silence was broken with a whisper, "Lest you forget…"

---

A/N: I live! Just a little history about Inuyasha got stuck here. Did anyone catch why he oculd get out? The story will go on – even if no one likes it except Megan… Anywho… drop a review if you've got time.

reenas-as


	4. Dangerous Games

Chapter 3: Dangerous Games

To say that Kagome had been a little uptight since the "incident" with the old bird would have been a huge understatement. In reality Kagome was extremely shaken. For a moment, for just a moment, she had forgotten what a dangerous game she was playing. This place was _real_. She could _die_ here, and her mother would never know what happened. For all she knew her brother was already dead. But she had to find him. She didn't have the right to get distracted; she didn't have the right to relax, to laugh. It was all her fault, one way or the other. No matter how she looked at it, this was her mess to clean up. And if she wasn't careful she'd just be one more stain on the Labyrinth walls.

These were all games.

Except that they weren't.

This was life and death. She wanted to be mad at Inuyasha for doing this to her. But hadn't she already admitted that it was all her fault? And now she knew that he had been serious when he had said that he couldn't help her get through the Labyrinth. He had never even _seen_ the inside of the Labyrinth. Not outside of his own castle. He was a prisoner, as much a victim as she.

And she wasn't going to forget this time. She wasn't going to forget that at any moment a trap could spring and she could die. Because it was stupid to forget. Because it was worse than stupid to forget - it was idiotic, it was careless, it was _ungrateful_. The fact that Shippo had helped her _avoid_ the traps didn't mean they weren't there. And eventually they would run into something the kitsune wasn't prepared for, because there was _no way_ he was prepared for everything, because, after all, he was just a child. And was it really fair for her to depend on a _child_ for her life?

Probably not. But she had no other choice. She comforted herself with the thought that he would probably follow her even if she _did_ tell him to go away. With that thought firmly in place it seemed alright to be glad he was there, alright to share just the smallest portion of the burden. He _had_ volunteered. And it wasn't as though he'd be exactly _safe_ even if he left her. He did _live_ in the Labyrinth. So, really, being with her might be a good thing… right?

And in the back of her mind she knew she was making excuses, but in the end the lonely, helpless part of her won out and she thrust the guilt to the back of her mind and buried it in a shallow grave.

It was his _choice_ to stay with her. And she wasn't going to take that away.

"Are you okay?" Shippo's voice pulled her from her tortured thoughts. Which was probably a good thing as they were only running in circles and were probably doing the opposite of what she had originally intended –which was to remind herself why she had to be vigilant. She couldn't exactly be vigilant and observant if she was lost in thought. She suddenly realized that Shippo was still staring at her.

"Ummm… I think so."

He snorted softly, "Well, that's reassuring." She wondered where he'd learned that – the snort, and the mocking sarcasm that so often colored his words.

She reached out to tug a lock of auburn hair, "Watch it kid." She warned softly. But they both knew she wouldn't do anything to him.

"Only if you will." He quipped, but there was seriousness in his eyes. He wanted her to pay attention. He was worried about her.

She sighed, "Why did you have to grow up so fast?" she questioned softly.

He shrugged, "Because if I hadn't I'd be dead."

He was so casual about it, but it wasn't fair. He was only a child… But then, no one ever said life was fair. After all, if life was fair she wouldn't be here. If life was fair there wouldn't have been a _here_ to be. Yep, life stunk. Period.

And it was about time to get out of her head and back to the Labyrinth because Kagome really, _really_ didn't want to die here.

Suddenly Shippo shifted on her shoulder, and she looked back (a slightly awkward movement, but one she was becoming accustomed to) to see him sniffing the air.

"We're almost out of the maze," he whispered.

Kagome wondered why, exactly, he was whispering. It wasn't as though he had told her some great secret - and there wasn't any one else to listen anyway.

"Out of the maze?" she echoed.

He nodded, "yeah, only the outer ring of the Labyrinth is an actual maze made of stone walls, the rest is… different." Kagome couldn't tell if he was reluctant to tell her about the other dangers of the maze, or if he just didn't know. He continued before she could ask, "If we're lucky we can go through the gate… but if not… well, there _are_ other ways."

Kagome's nose wrinkled in distaste, thinking about the gate she had argued with earlier. Talking gates were decidedly annoying, she decided. And she, of course, would know based on her vast amount of experience with all of… one talking gate. Okay, so she wasn't an expert, but she had a fairly good idea that talking gates were never a good thing.

"It doesn't _talk_ does it?"

Shippo stared at her as if she'd asked him if she was currently flying and shook his head. "Noooo…" he tilted his head, "Why would the gate talk?"

"Oh, I don't know, maybe because the gate on the outside of the wall did."

He looked confused, "There's a gate on the outside of the wall?"

She blinked back at him, "Shouldn't there be?"

He shrugged, "I've never seen one… which doesn't really mean much, I guess." He was still giving her that strange look. "Anyway, it's not that kind of gate. At least, it hasn't been any of the times I've seen it."

"Hasn't been?" she was doing a fairly decent impression of the Grand canyon, what with the constant echoing and all, and she hated it, but she was so very, very confused.

"Well," he sounded a little uneasy now, "See, it isn't always the same. That's why I said we could go through it if we're lucky." He picked at a spot on his shirt, not meeting her eyes, "It isn't even always… umm… sometimes it isn't even there…"

Now it was Kagome's turn to stare at him like he was crazy. "Sometimes it isn't there?" this place was so nuts it made her want to tear her hair out. She remembered having heard somewhere that the definition of insanity was doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results – what, then, did it mean if doing the same thing _did_ bring different results? That was not at all a pleasant thought.

"Anyway," Shippo plowed on, some cheerfulness creeping back into his tone, "we should know soon enough."

* * *

Shippo hadn't been kidding when he had said they would know soon enough. No sooner had the words left his mouth then before them there materialized two gates and two stone statues. Having learned from the bird not to trust the appearance of stone, Kagome was betting they were guards. Ugly guards too, they looked like walking boars in armor carrying heavy axes. 

"Two gates?" Kagome shot Shippo a harsh look.

"I said it changed!" he defended himself.

Kagome let it go and cautiously approached the gates. Neither 'statue' had moved yet, and both appeared to have their eyes closed. But when Kagome got within a yard of the first one its eyes snapped open, proving that at least part of her initial assumption was correct.

"Who goes?" It ground out.

Kagome faltered, "Umm… my name is Kagome, and I would like to get through the gate…" she trailed off uncertainly. Which gate did she want to go through? Did it even matter?

She could have sworn the thing smiled, and it was not a cheerful sight. In fact, it was almost nauseating. The thing's breath stunk.

"Certainly," it nodded, "You may enter the gate." And he stepped to the side, allowing her passage.

Kagome looked at Shippo, utterly lost. That was far too easy. Shippo seemed as lost as she, but he just shrugged. Kagome took a hesitant step forward, eyeing the guard suspiciously, and when the second boar's stone axe suddenly fell before her she nearly screamed.

"What was _that _for?" she snapped, backing up a step.

"Are you sure you want to go that way?" the creature asked.

"Umm…" Kagome tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, a somewhat nervous habit, "No?" it was more a question than anything else. How could she be _sure_ of anything? She didn't know the first thing about this place.

"I'll let you in on a secret," the second guard leaned close to her in a conspiratorial manner, placing a hand to shield its mouth from the view of the other guard. "My brother there is trying to trick you. You see, behind his door lies destruction, but my door will lead you to Labyrinth city." Kagome darted an uneasy glance between the two boars, fighting the urge to take another step back as this second creature also had positively atrocious breath.

"Umm… it does?" she managed to ask, though she could hardly breathe.

"Yes." And then the guard straightened, giving her some much needed breathing room.

Kagome took an even more hesitant step toward the second gate, but the first guard stopped her by speaking.

"I wouldn't do that." He warned, "He always lies. In fact, he is not capable of telling the truth."

Kagome looked back at the second boar, who seemed vaguely amused at the accusation. "That _might_ be true." He agreed, "But maybe _you_ are the liar."

Now Kagome didn't know what to think.

"I'll tell you what, girl," Kagome wasn't even sure which boar was speaking any more. "We'll strike you a deal. You see, one of us always lies,"

He trailed off and the second boar continued, "And the other always tells the truth."

The first continued again as both boars moved in front of their respective gates, "You may ask each of us a question. And then chose a gate accordingly."

"One gate leads to your goal."

"And the other leads to your death."

And then they both stood at attention, grinning at her like fools.

Kagome knew this riddle, or at least one similar to it. The problem was, the riddle she knew only involved one… well, grinning idiot. And she was fairly certain it didn't work quite the same way. In the riddle she knew there were two villages, one of liars, and one of truth tellers. There was a man standing at the fork in the path that led to the two villages and you had to learn from him which village was the village of truth tellers. The problem was you could only ask the man one question, and you had no idea whether he came from the village of liars or truth tellers. So you had to ask him to tell you the way to _his_ village. If the man was a truth teller, he would point to his own village, which was where you wanted to go. And if the man was a liar he would still point to the truth teller's village because he couldn't point to his own.

The trouble was she didn't know which of these two was honest. And she had no guarantee either one was, or even if they were consistent. She could ask the first boar if he was his brother. If he always lied he'd say yes, which should mean that the other boar was truthful. In which case she could simply ask him which gate was correct. If the first boar was the truth teller he would answer 'No' to her question. Which would mean the other brother was the liar and when she asked him which gate was correct she could take the other one. But what if neither brother were honest? Or, worse, what if they were just like everyone else, sometimes lying, sometimes telling the truth. There was just no way to find out what she needed to know in one question, or even two.

As she puzzled through this her thoughts were interrupted by Shippo tugging insistently at her sleeve.

"Kagome," another tug, "let's go."

"But," she started to protest, but he was already moving away, and it was very uncomfortable to walk and lean down at that angle at the same time.

"Come on." He insisted.

Kagome started to follow, but then she thought of something. She stopped and stared at the two gates, thinking through what the brothers had already said to her. "Shippo, I know which gate!" she said brightly, laughing at the simplicity of it. And she stepped back towards the gates. But Shippo wasn't going to let her go. He tugged her just out of the guards' line of sight.

"Just wait a few minutes, Kagome!" he pleaded, "The gates aren't going anywhere." Kagome wasn't too certain of that considering how they had seemed to materialize in front of them minutes before, but she did wait, albeit impatiently. And it turned out it was worth the wait.

Not many minutes after Shippo had pulled her away a small turtle creature approached. Kagome thought it might have been the turtle from earlier –when she was outside the labyrinth – but she couldn't be sure. Suddenly she realized that the turtle was going to go through one of the gates. Eagerly she watched, hoping to discover the truth so that they could pass through.

One of the boars stepped aside and the turtle passed through the gate. For a moment all seemed well, then there was a blood curdling scream and a splash of blood. The boars laughed hysterically.

Kagome felt sick. That was the door she would have chosen.

"They're both liars, Kagome." Shippo explained solemnly, "You see, whichever gate you choose _becomes _the way of death. There is no safe path."

Kagome was having serious issues steadying her breathing, and she looked at Shippo with both admiration and pity. He was too wise for one so young.

Seeing her distress Shippo sought a way to distract her. Jumping up on her shoulder he smiled, "hey! Let's play a game!"

Her eyes darted to him in something akin to panic.

"An easy game," he reassured her, "something without consequences." He grinned.

Kagome nodded uncertainly, and the kit grinned.

"Umm… how about 'I Spy'?" he asked.

Kagome agreed. That was a safe enough game. No way to get hurt, no punishment for the loser. Yes, that was safe enough.

Unfortunately it was also very boring as after several attempts they realized there was really nothing to spy except stone walls… But it did keep Kagome's mind off other things.

Ironic considering not an hour before she had been trying to keep her mind _on_ the dangers of the Labyrinth.

"Umm… I think I'm done with this game." Kagome finally protested.

Shippo grumbled, "All right." He grudgingly agreed. "Maybe that's enough games for now."

Kagome whole heartedly agreed. She had had enough games to last her a lifetime.

"Hey, Shippo?" he glanced up at her, "I thought you said we were almost out of the stone maze?"

Shippo lifted his head and gave a sniff. "Not as close as before… the gate is kind of a shortcut." He admitted, "But we're still less than a half day away."

Kagome groaned; did this place even _have _days? It still looked exactly the same time of day to her. Which reminded her…

"Umm, Shippo?" he looked at her, "How long do you think we've been traveling together exactly?"

"Well…" he frowned a little, "it's kind of hard to say, but I think it's been almost a day."

Just great. A day? Her mother was surely home by now. And she'd have Kagome's hide if she and Souta ever returned. Of course, every thing else was screwy here, so she could always hold out on the hope that time was screwy here as well.

"Are you okay?"

Kagome forced a smile at the kit's obvious concern. "Yeah, just … thinking." She had been going to say thinking about her family, but since he didn't have any…

"Kagome?" she was instantly drawn by the sadness in his tone, "tell me about your family. What's it like to have a brother?"

She sighed heavily; obviously he had followed her line of thought. But then, maybe that was alright. If he couldn't have a family of his own then maybe she could share hers with him.

"Annoying." She chuckled, as that was the first word that popped out, without her even thinking about it first. Then her tone and face softened, "And wonderful. We can get on each other's nerves, but we love each other. When I'm sick he gets my homework, and when he's sick I sneak him ice cream." she grinned. "So it's good."

"I didn't have any brothers or sisters." Shippo told her, "but I wish I did."

Kagome reached up to tousle his hair, "Tell you what. If you find mine – I'll let you keep him." She gave him a wink and he giggled, all solemnity forgotten.

"Promise?" his eyes were sparkling with happiness.

"Sure." She shrugged, "But you have to promise to give him back when mom comes home."

"Deal!" he announced grandly, offering his hand in a mimic of her gesture at their first meeting.

Kagome took it and grinned.

Even in a lousy, crazy place like this, there were still good people. She took that as a positive sign. Of course, Kagome always had been an optimist…

* * *

"Shippo? What is that?" beneath their feet the monotonous stone had changed. Ahead of them the stone could be seen in all sorts of shapes and sizes and colors - blue triangles in green circles next to red squares and orange half moons. It looked like a child's playground. And Kagome didn't trust it. After all, one game of 'I Spy' was not enough to make her forget the rest of her experiences in the Labyrinth. 

Shippo didn't seem too upset though. In fact, he eagerly jumped out onto the first shape.

"It's a game." He urged her, smiling. "Like – hopscotch. You just jump on the right shapes." He demonstrated, "See?" he turned to grin back at her.

Cautiously Kagome followed after him; after all, there was no way to go around. "And, ummm…" her brow furrowed in concentration and she didn't take her eyes from the ground to look at him while she spoke, "what, uh, what happens if I make a mistake?" she already knew that one could pay a high price for a misstep in the Labyrinth. She shuddered as she remembered the decapitated bird and the hapless turtle.

"Ummm," Shippo once again paused to look back at her, "that would be bad." He said solemnly, "You don't want to do that."

Kagome could feel the sweat trickling down her back, great, she was going to smell like a locker room when she got out of this – _if_ she got out of this.

"H-how bad." It was getting harder to concentrate. As her fear grew, her coordination diminished. Her vision was blurring around the edges, and her legs were trembling. _: this_ _is not the time to faint, girl:_ she mentally scolded herself. Suddenly she was swaying and she shifted her foot to regain her balance. The earth shifted beneath her with a sickening rumble and a sharp crack. And when she looked down she could have sworn there was only blackness beneath her.

"That bad." She heard the kit whisper. And then she was falling.

"Shippo!" she cried in desperation, searching frantically around her, but the young kitsune was gone.

* * *

A/N: I meant to upload this last week but... I hate editing! Anyway, poor Kag just got left and she's falling yet again. Poor girl. If you're reading this drop me a Review -k- ?

reenas-as


	5. Unlikely Hero

Chapter 4: Unlikely Hero

Kagome was falling, falling impossibly far, down a never ending pit. And then, suddenly, she wasn't.

"Need a hand?" a disembodied voice inquired pleasantly.

"Yes! Yes! I need a hand!" she shrieked, beyond caring about the source of her help, but then less sure as a single hand and forearm, ending just below the elbow, reached out and grasped her, pulling her up.

And then she found herself in a clearing, grasping the hand of a handsome young man in holy robes.

"Are you… a priest?" she asked uncertainly, trying to free her hand from his grip, but he wasn't releasing her. Instead he smiled softly and pulled her a little closer.

"I am a monk." He corrected. Casting a glance at his earrings and the bronze staff in his hand she supposed she could take him at his word.

"Oh… well, thank you." She gave her hand another tug, less discreetly this time, hoping he would take the hint. "I'm very grateful."

"Really…" he drawled, his smile widening into a full grin. And then he had pulled her nearly against his chest and was clasping her hand in both of his. When he spoke his voice was low and seductive, and Kagome gulped, "In that case," he continued as though this were the most natural position in the world for them to be in, "would you consent to bearing my child?"

Kagome's eyes widened. In the space of an instant a resounding slap was heard and Kagome was suddenly standing several feet from the monk, her back to him, face red with mortification.

The monk, for his part, was nursing a very red mark on his cheek that looked suspiciously like a handprint. Rubbing it tenderly he ventured, "I'll take that as a no…"

Kagome turned her head just enough that he could see her jaw was hanging open in shock. He chuckled and stepped toward her. Warily Kagome took a step back. This caused him to sigh and cease his advance.

"I am Miroku." He offered pleasantly, "and you are?" he trailed off, waiting for her to jump in.

"Kagome." She said shortly, turning to fully face him once more, but staying at a safe distance. He really seemed like a nice man, and he _had_ saved her life. Of course, he had also asked her a really inappropriate question, and it wasn't as though she _knew_ him or anything…

"Kagome," he repeated it a few times, "I like it. It's sweet." He finally decided, "suits you." He flashed a charming grin, and even though she already knew better Kagome had to fight the urge to melt.

"Thank you." She forced some primness into her tone, hoping he'd take the hint and move to a less personal subject.

He knew her game, it was clear in his quirked brow and his sparkling eyes, but he played it anyway. "And what is your business in the Labyrinth, Kagome?" Apparently he had been serious about liking her name.

"I'm… looking for someone…" she was fairly certain that she could trust him. And, really, what harm could it possibly do for anyone to know why she was here?

"Ahhhh," he nodded sagely, "a common predicament in this place. I, myself, am looking for someone. Perhaps we might travel together?" his tone was casual, but the glance he gave her was anything but.

Kagome carefully weighed her options. The monk seemed far more familiar with the Labyrinth than she was. And, as Shippo had apparently decided to abandon her and she had no idea where to go next… well, she was in desperate need of some guidance. Still, he was far too forward. But what would that matter if she died here anyway?

"I promise to behave." He added for good measure.

Kagome almost laughed, she didn't have to know him well to know _that_ wasn't going to happen. He didn't even look as though _he_ believed it.

He shrugged, "I promise to try." And there went that adorable grin again. Did he know that the dimple in his left cheek was almost irresistible? She gave him a once over – probably.

"I guess it wouldn't hurt." She acquiesced.

"Wonderful." Faster than she could have imagined he was beside her, "I promise you won't regret it, Kagome."

She was skeptical about that too, especially since he had lowered his voice to a husky murmur to make that last comment. She easily stepped around him. Thank goodness for all those years of dodging Hojo's unwanted advances. Not that Hojo would have ever _dreamed_ of touching her like this guy did, or asking her such… inappropriate questions. Hojo was always the perfect gentleman - which was probably why she found him so mind-numbingly boring.

Kagome berated herself harshly for the unkind thought, but she couldn't un-think it, and she couldn't deny that it was true. Fortunately she didn't have much time to focus on her mental slip as something happened to distract her…

It was a touch. Unmistakable and extremely inappropriate.

"Pervert!" she shrieked, raising her hand to strike at the offender who had dared touch her… _there_, "I thought you were going to behave?"

Miroku backed away, waving his hands in front of him in a gesture that might have been comical if she hadn't been so upset. "I will." He promised smoothly and Kagome rolled her eyes.

"Touching my butt is _not_ behaving!"

"But I couldn't resist!" he protested, "I just had to do it once, to know what it would feel like. I'll behave now."

She narrowed one eye at him, "Monk my right eye…" she grumbled. Then she placed her hands on her hips and marched over to him, leaning into his face. Miroku found that, despite the fact she had to raise on tiptoe to do it, she was quite intimidating. "Word to the wise _monk_," the stress she placed on the title clearly indicating her disinclination to believe that was what he was, "touch me again and my hero or not I'll slap you all the way to China! Got that?"

Miroku was staring at her, and she the longer he was silent the sillier she felt. She couldn't really wait here in his face until he answered. And just when she was going to back off he spoke up.

"What is China?" he asked in bewilderment.

* * *

Kagome had been walking for far too long, and while she couldn't really say that she was irritated, she wasn't really happy either. At least Miroku had kept his promise to keep his hands to himself. Of course, it probably helped that every time he got within a foot of her she shot him a glare that would have scared the Terminator.

She had to admit though, he wasn't a bad companion. He was courteous (when he wasn't being inappropriate), and friendly (sometimes _too_ friendly), and rather attractive (though she wouldn't tell _him_ that – he'd probably take that as a license to grope…). And he certainly knew enough about the Labyrinth. This, as it turned out, was a very good thing, because now that she was past the "stone maze" portion of the labyrinth she was completely lost. They had been walking through open fields for what felt like forever.

And right now Kagome was bored.

She was bored because the scenery remained stubbornly the same, and Miroku had been studying her intently, but quietly, ever since she had tried to explain what China was to him.

Miroku, for his part, was extremely curious, and a little confused. This girl was like no other he had ever met, and that intrigued him.

Miroku was not by nature one to pry. He believed every man's business was his own. And that applied to females as well. But her clothing, her manner of speech, everything about her was so foreign. Eventually his curiosity had finally won out and he dared to approach her.

"Where are you from?"

"Tokyo." So far so good. She didn't seem upset at all.

"To – ky – o" he repeated slowly, the name sounding strange on his tongue.

Glad for an opening into conversation she was about to ask him where _he_ was from when a thought suddenly occurred to her. "Miroku? You're human right?"

He quirked a brow in mild surprise, "Of course."

"I thought humans couldn't get into the Labyrinth." She accused.

"That's not _entirely_ true. There are a few exceptions." He winked at her, "Thinking about how much you'll miss me if I turn out to be a figment of your imagination?"

"No!" she cringed and turned away to hide her blush. Even to her the denial had sounded too quick.

"Really, Kagome, it's alright to admit you are fond of me." He said playfully, "After all, I'll gladly admit to being fond of you."

Kagome shook her head, "I'm not fond of you. I hardly know you… I was just… thinking about something someone told me." She was so focused on trying to explain this comment that she didn't notice the hurt look that briefly flashed through his eyes. They walked on in silence a moment longer before she looked back at him, words of explanation on the tip of her tongue, only to find him staring at her. The explanation died away.

"What?" she shifted uneasily, wondering why he was staring at her like that.

"You don't like me?"

"What?" she was utterly confused.

"You don't like me?" he asked again.

Kagome shook her head as if to clear it, shoving the hair that fell in her face back behind her ears. "Of course I like you." She managed, "What made you think that I didn't?"

"You said you weren't fond of me."

Kagome actually had to stop walking to stare at him. He was serious!

"Well, yeah, but I… that isn't exactly what I meant." She was struggling again. Boy, this guy asked the weirdest questions. "Fond implies… well, something greater than friendship, and I don't feel _that_ for you because… after all, we just met and…" And she suddenly realized that last part had been a very dumb thing to say.

In an instant Miroku transformed from dejected and serious to seductively playful. "Implying that after you've known me for some time you _might_ feel _that_ for me?" he smiled, that same crooked smile that had set her insides churning before. And she didn't move away when he came closer. It was ridiculous really, she _didn't_ know him, and he certainly wasn't her type, but he was very, very good at this sort of thing evidently. She wondered how many women had succumbed to his charm. And then she wondered how many women there were in this place, because if Miroku had gotten _that_ good with no one to practice on… well, then life just wasn't fair. It wasn't until he was literally holding her that she remembered why she was wondering that.

"N-no!" she twisted out of his light hold, "you promised to behave!" she scolded.

His answer was an adorable pout, "I _am_ behaving." He stepped smoothly toward her.

"N-no you _aren't_." she backed away, but this time he didn't stop advancing. His lids drooped heavily over his sparkling eyes.

"You hurt my feelings, Kagome." There was a teasing lilt to his voice, "I think you should make it up to me. I _did_ save your life after all."

Kagome gasped, that was shameless! It was just wrong!

"Isn't that part of your holy duties or something?"

He shrugged with casual elegance, "something like that." Then he grinned wickedly, "but I am not adverse to accepting compensation…"

And even though she was disgusted with him she couldn't really be mad at him because he was just so… so… Miroku! This man could con a conman with ease. Kagome realized that she was going to be in trouble if she didn't set some things straight with the monk. Jaw set with determination she stopped backing away from him and took a solid stance. Adopting the tone she used to deter Souta (and her friends) when they were prying, she plunged in feet first.

"Miroku. You are a very attractive guy, and you can be very nice. And I like you, and I'm glad we're traveling together," she didn't give him a chance to interrupt, "but we need to get some things straight. I'm here for one reason, and that's to find my little brother. Now, I could use your help, but if you're going to try to take advantage of me then I'll head out on my own." When she finally stopped to breathe she was relieved to see that he had stopped and appeared to be seriously considering her words. Finally he nodded.

"My apologies." He was clearly sincere, "I had forgotten."

"Well… just don't forget again." She almost felt bad for being so harsh because he was just so understanding now, but she knew he wouldn't have backed off if she hadn't been firm. She also knew that she would most likely have to remind him many more times on this journey.

He was studying her, all gravity and sympathy now. "Where is your brother, Kagome?" He asked softly.

And she didn't see the momentary panic in his eyes when she replied, "In the heart of the Labyrinth."

* * *

The fields through which Kagome and Miroku traveled were actually quit lovely. A fact Kagome had plenty of time to take in. She and her unlikely companion had settled into a comfortable silence, and the only sound she heard was the occasional jangle of the rings on his staff. She had asked him about it, in one of their brief bouts of conversation, and he had told her that it was a holy staff and he could use it to channel his powers, although mostly he used it as a quarter staff. Conversing about the staff led to conversation concerning other things, such as his holy powers and the prayer beads he kept wrapped around his left hand. He said it was a reminder, and Kagome left it at that.

But what Kagome was really curious about was how there were humans within the Labyrinth.

Miroku did not understand her curiosity, but he genuinely liked her so he indulged her.

"How many humans are there in the Labyrinth?"

He shrugged, "We don't exactly take a census," he told her, "But I have met at least three others. All women, of course."

She raised a hand as if to smack him and he quickly continued, "one is an old woman, and another is a young child." He didn't say anything about the third, but from the look in his eyes she gathered it was a sensitive subject. She remembered his comment about searching for someone and wondered if the mystery woman was that someone.

"And of course, there was the old monk who raised me. But he is dead now." The monk continued, "there are probably a few others scattered around, but I've not met any."

"How did you get here?" that was the part that really got to her. This was supposed to be an impenetrable fortress. The only reason demons could get in was because Inuyasha was the Goblin King. And that should have nothing to do with humans.

"I was born here."

The statement startled her, "Born here?" she echoed dumbly.

"Yes, I've no idea how my mother came to be here as she died before I was old enough to ask her any questions. But I gather it has something to do with our holy powers."

"You got your holy powers from your mother?" for some reason she had thought a _monk's_ holy power would be passed down through the father's side of the family.

He shook his head, "I sincerely doubt that my mother was a priestess. However, she _was_ carrying me when she passed through the barrier-"

"You know about the barrier?" she was so shocked she interrupted him.

He chuckled, "Of course."

"Then why don't you leave?"

"I can't."

"You can't?"

His hand on her arm stopped her, "Kagome," and she somehow knew he was dreading telling her this next thing, "the barrier only works on way. Few get in… none get out." And he must have seen the fear, the denial, that welled up within her very soul, because his gaze turned sympathetic. She gritted her teeth and looked at him steadily.

"I'm getting out." She told him firmly. "I'll _make_ him let me out." And as she walked away she failed to see the confusion on the monk's face.

"Make _who_ let you out?" he whispered.

* * *

A/N: ... I was going to say something, but I can't remember... Um... going to try to update every Saturday from now on. Drop a review and all that jazz, and no I didn't steal the two gates thing last chapter from YGO - that gag is as old as time... and... darn it, there was somethign about _this_ chapter I wanted to tell you all, but I guess I won't now...

reenas-as


	6. So That We Will Not Cry

Chapter 5: So That We Will Not Cry

The appearance of the monk was an unexpected development. And Inuyasha was not at all certain that he was pleased about it. Granted the man did save Kagome's life, but he was entirely too… _friendly…_ and the stupid girl didn't have the backbone to tell him where to get off.

It was bad enough all those holy people had wandered into his world as it was. He had to keep an eye on the whole lot of them constantly. And then he'd had to take that one into custody… They did keep the Labyrinth from getting out of hand, but they were more trouble than they were worth. And this one was the worst. And now that stupid conman of a monk was getting dangerously close to something Inuyasha saw as his own…

Still, the presence of the monk was not nearly as disturbing as… other facts which would soon present themselves.

And as long as Kagome made him keep his distance, it might be good to have someone there to look after her. Holy powers would be useful in the dark forest.

But if the monk got out of line…

* * *

They were approaching a forest, and Kagome, for one, was looking forward to a change of scenery. Miroku had made her stop to rest twice in their journey, and she assumed that at least a day had gone by, but since the sun remained in its mid-day position she had no way of marking the time. It was a shame she hadn't been wearing her watch when she was dropped here. Of course, her house had clocks, and a moving sun…

It really hadn't seemed necessary at the time…

Hindsight was killer.

At any rate, at least she knew they were getting further into the Labyrinth. Miroku had told her that the forest surrounded Labyrinth City, and at the heart of the city was the castle. Somehow she got the impression that he wasn't looking forward to going there.

They had almost reached the forest when she felt something, almost like a shift in the very atmosphere around them. Before she had time to wonder what it was, Miroku was in front of her, his staff extended defensively.

"Kagome! Get back." He warned. And she didn't even try to argue. If she had learned anything on this journey it was that when Miroku bothered to be serious one was wise to pay attention.

"Come out." Miroku called, his voice raised to carry, although where he wanted it to carry to Kagome was not certain.

"Really now, you aren't being very sporting." The voice was distinctly male, and for once it was accompanied by the appearance of a very normal looking human being. Except that from the way Miroku was tensing up Kagome was fairly certain there was something more here than met the eye.

"Who are you, demon?" Miroku asked harshly. And there went Kagome's assumption that he was a 'normal human being.' She eyed the stranger critically. He certainly looked human, tall and blond, with deep blue eyes and a strong, but lean, build. It was only when she looked closely that she realized his ears, like Shippo's, were pointed. The reason she hadn't noticed it at first was that his hair, long and silky looking, covered them. It suddenly occurred to Kagome that everyone in this place seemed to be either incredibly good looking or incredibly ugly. Was there no middle ground in this place?

The stranger noticed her perusal and smiled, "Hello, Kagome."

Kagome started, and Miroku stiffened. He cast a half glance back at her, not daring to take his attention off the man before them. "You know him?" he murmured.

"No."

Miroku, feeling unaccountably relieved and also very suspicious, turned his attention back to their unwanted guest. "You haven't answered my question, demon." There was a clear note of warning in his tone.

The demon made a mocking bow, "Forgive me my rudeness. I am but a wanderer."

Miroku's eyes narrowed. "That is as good as no answer at all."

"And so it is." The demon's eyes crinkled at the corners as he smiled. "And so it shall remain." In a movement quicker than a blink he was behind Kagome, his fingers running through her hair.

"I've been watching you." He admitted quietly, and when Miroku realized where the demon was he swung both himself and Kagome around so that he was once more between her and the intruder. The demon remained untouched, still directing his words to Kagome. "I must admit that I find you quite fascinating."

"Ummm… thanks." Kagome shifted uncomfortably. She didn't like the idea of someone watching her without her knowledge.

"If that is true, why reveal yourself now?" Miroku challenged.

The demon studied his nails a moment before flicking his fingers casually, "I became bored." He lifted his eyes to study Kagome, and Miroku reached behind him with one hand, pulling her closer to him in an attempt to block the demon's view.

"I don't see how we can help you." He offered coolly.

The demon spoke as if Miroku wasn't even there, stepping to the side so that he could clearly see the young woman once more.

"How about we play a game, Kagome?" his voice was too soft, too intimate, and at the same time cold.

Kagome shook her head. She had had enough of games. If she never saw another game again… well, sufficed to say that the next time someone suggested a game of Monopoly they were going to have to cover their ears…

"Oh, but I want to." He crooned. "How about the monk?" his gaze darted to Miroku, who was still standing tensely half between Kagome and himself, "surely he wants to play."

"I think you had best be on your way." Miroku said firmly.

The man laughed. "Not until we finish my game!" he smiled and circled around them, forcing them to turn to keep him in sight. "Since you don't seem to be 'feeling it' why don't I make it more real for you?" he inquired. Miroku's eyes narrowed in suspicion. The man paused in a show of concentration, tapping a finger against his chin, "I know!" he said brightly, "Let's make this interesting. I'll even let _you_ be the center of attention." He waved absently in Kagome's direction.

Miroku's hand tightened on his staff. "If you-" he began warningly. The stranger waved him off.

"She won't be in any danger." There was nothing reassuring in his tone. "Really, what fun would that be? I'd much prefer to get rid of _you_." He grinned wickedly. Kagome darted a frightened glance at Miroku, but aside from a slight whitening of the knuckles where his hand gripped his staff he seemed unaffected.

"Do you want to know the game, little Kagome?" he teased. "You might want to know the stakes before we begin."

"What do you want?" Miroku snapped.

The man pouted, "I was talking to Kagome…"

"You'll talk to me." Miroku's voice brooked no argument.

"You're no fun." The man leapt back a few yards. "The game is find your friend, Kagome." He directly ignored the monk's order, "and if you should fail… his life is forfeit." He laughed at this. But before Kagome or Miroku could figure out what he meant by this, something changed dramatically.

Kagome was suddenly surrounded by Miroku – literally.

Where before there had been one, there were now dozens of purple robed figures.

"Wh-" she looked around in utter confusion as they all called her name, vying for her attention.

"Kagome," she whirled to see one monk reach for her hand, "come on," he cajoled, "you know me."

"Surely you recognize me," another spoke up.

Kagome's head was beginning to ache. One Miroku had been hard enough to handle.

"Come Kagome, which is it?"

Kagome focused on the single unmoving figure before her, the man who had spoken – the demon. He was so calm it was irritating.

"What kind of girl can't recognize her own companion?" he taunted, "Are you so shallow, Kagome? Surely you know which monk is real."

"I'm not… how can I… I hardly know him!" she protested weakly.

The man laughed, "A fine way to speak of the man who saved your life. Tell me, are you even grateful?"

"I'm grateful!" she protested, "I am. I just… don't know…" she trailed off weakly, confused by the cacophony around her. She was on sensory overload.

"Prove it." The man hissed, suddenly very close to her, his lips pressed against her ear. She didn't remember him moving there, "save his life as he did yours – choose."

It was too much pressure. How could she be certain? How could she make a choice knowing that the wrong one would lead to Miroku's death?

She couldn't.

"Make a decision or I destroy them all." The threat made her tremble. How long? How long could she stall? Would it even do any good? She'd known the man for less than a day. Sure, there hadn't been much to do except talk to him, but this wasn't exactly a dating show. She couldn't have them all sit down nicely and ask 'bachelor number 1 – why do you have beads wrapped around your left hand?' She might have considered it except that no one else in the clearing looked as though they were willing to cooperate.

"I'm waiting." He didn't sound very patient anymore, though his amusement was evident.

Kagome put her hands over her ears and closed her eyes, trying to block out the confusion around her. They were too close, brushing up against her now, their voices rising and falling and rising again – like the waves on a beach. She wasn't going to be able to take this much longer. Somewhere behind the noise and her hands pressed against her ears she could hear the demon taunting her, mocking her, laughing at her. She would never be able to choose.

And then…

And then a hand grazed her backside. A touch too prolonged to be accidental.

"Miroku!" she yanked herself around to slap him without a second thought.

This was the real Miroku. It had to be. Only Miroku would be stupid enough to grope her when his life was in danger.

And the moment her palm connected with his face it was suddenly quiet. Kagome was nearly frozen, but she managed to turn her head slowly to look around the clearing. It was empty, except for herself, the monk, and the demon. But he didn't matter right now, what mattered was that she had made the right choice – Miroku was still alive. Miroku reached up to rub his burning cheek, and it was only then that she realized that she was still touching him. She jerked her hand back, holding it to her chest and massaging the palm lightly.

"I knew you would find me." He smiled, his eyes dancing merrily.

Kagome bristled, "Don't _even_ pretend that was just a way to get my attention!" she snapped, her relief quickly being replaced by anger. She had been so _scared_, and he was _laughing_! She turned her back to him, crossing her arms, "Pervert." She muttered.

Miroku was unfazed. Smiling he came up and draped an arm over her shoulders, placing the other hand over his heart.

"Ah, my dear Kagome, I must admit the opportunity to be near you in near anonymity was just too good to pass up."

She stiffened, but didn't pull away, "Ah ha!" she pointed an accusing finger in his face, "You thought you could hide in the crowd – you weren't even _thinking_ about saving yourself. You are such a perverted idiot!"

He held up his hands defensively in front of his chest, backing away a step. "On the contrary, Kagome, I had the utmost faith in you. Therefore I saw no reason to make any extraordinary effort to gain your attention."

"Baloney-" and anything further she might have said was cut off by a low chuckle nearby.

Kagome's gaze shot up, and even Miroku looked toward the source of the laugh. They had both forgotten the demon who had started this whole mess.

"As amusing as this is," he drawled, "And as much as I would _love_ to stay and see it play out… I really must be going."

"So go already." Kagome ground out with such venom that Miroku looked back at her in surprise. Her fists were balled tightly at her sides, and her teeth were clenched. The tendons in her neck stood out with the effort she was making to stay calm.

The man smiled, shaking his head, "First, I must congratulate you," he moved closer to her and she literally backed into Miroku – which didn't bother him at all. Casually the monk rested his hands on her waist. She didn't even notice, but their unwanted companion did, "It appears you are closer than I expected." He acknowledged, "And so, congratulations, and farewell."

And then he was gone.

"Creep." Kagome scowled.

"I quite agree," Miroku's voice was disturbingly close and she suddenly realized that she was practically in his arms. "But, Kagome, I didn't realize you cared so much about my welfare," Kagome _did not _like his tone, or the way his hand was sliding up form her waist. He ducked his head to murmur in her ear, "Does this mean you might consider bearing my-"

"O-kay" she slipped out of his arms with a nervous laugh. "Now that _that_ is over, we should really be going…"

And Miroku laughed.

Kagome gaped at him, "This isn't funny!"

He sobered quickly, observing her through lowered lids. He reached out a hand to brush her cheek and she almost backed away, but she couldn't.

"Sometimes we laugh so that we will not cry." He murmured gently, and for the first time in her life Kagome thought she was beginning to understand the phrase. Everything about this place was so dangerous, it was ludicrous really. If she cried over everything that went wrong she would always be in tears. There was nothing to do but laugh at the insanity of it all.

"I guess." She turned away, uncomfortable with the tender way he was looking at her. He shouldn't be comforting her… after all, she had only been here a short time, and he had lived with this his entire life.

Miroku just smiled and let her avoid his gaze. He wasn't going to press.

* * *

Inuyasha growled, low and feral. The girl was getting entirely too friendly with that lecherous monk. And Miroku needed to learn to keep his hands to himself. It had been one thing when Kagome had kept him at a distance… but now.

And coupled with the growing danger she was in… Perhaps it was time to play his hand…

* * *

"Are you alright?"

Kagome had been disturbingly quite for the last several hours. Miroku was afraid that she was dwelling too heavily upon the incident just outside the forest. For her part, Kagome was thinking that this place was one dreadful 'incident' after another. And most of the bad stuff seemed to happen because of her.

"I'm sorry." He almost couldn't hear her, as her voice was muffled by the fact that her chin was pressed against her chest.

His brow lifted in surprise, "For what?"

She refused to look at him, "You were in danger, and it was my fault. Maybe you should let me go on alone."

"Kagome," his voice was tender, and she was surprised to find that he was beside her. He hooked one finger under her chin and lifted her face so that he could meet her gaze, "I was in danger long before you appeared." He assured her. And then, with a gentle smile, "you've just made it more interesting. I've never enjoyed being in danger so much." Something in him rebelled at that – it wasn't entirely true, there had been another time… another woman… but he wouldn't burden her with that.

* * *

A/N: Just barely made my Saturday deadline... I nearly forgot except that I was checking my email and got a review... Anyway... who was the guy? A random Labyrinth guy. Why did he leave? Because people in the Labyrinth are wierd... and he was probably bored. Who is Miroku thinking of? I'll give you three guesses and the first two don't count. Why is Inuyasha so mad? Duh! It's an I/K fic after all Drop me a review and enjoy. Eventually things will start to get pretty serious, so enjoy the comic relief while you can

reenas-as


	7. At Least It's a Change

Chapter 6: At Least It's a Change…

"This stinks."

Miroku's right brow winged upward at Kagome's adamant pronouncement. Cautiously he took a light sniff. "It does?" he inquired. Perhaps she could detect something he could not.

Kagome turned to look at him, and paused at the sight that met her eyes. The monk had tilted his head so that his nose was "in the air" and had even gone so far as to close his eyes. For a moment she just stared, her brow wrinkling in confusion. What was he doing? And then she remembered what she had said, and the fact that twenty-something year old men who grew up in magical, albeit _annoying_, labyrinths were not likely to be up to date with the current slang.

"Um, not literally, Miroku." She gently touched his arm to draw his attention, and was relieved that he was curious enough not to take advantage. "It's an expression. It means that this is… really not fun, at all…"

"Ah." He nodded, both in comprehension and in agreement. Indeed, this really was no fun - at all.

The Labyrinth forest was, to put it mildly, creepy. It was difficult to see three feet ahead, and even then one was never really certain what one was seeing. For one thing, the entire forest floor was covered in very dense undergrowth and lots of fungi. Kagome was certain her biology teacher would have a field day, but _she _was not interested in mushrooms. Then there was the fact that the forest was filled with strange noises. Kagome had asked what made them, and Miroku had said she didn't want to know. She decided to take him at his word, and didn't complain when he moved to walk closer to her. For a brief moment it occurred to her that he might just be trying to scare her to get close to her, but really Miroku wasn't usually that subtle. And he really did look wary. In fact, he hadn't once tried to grope her since their entrance into the forest. For some reason that scared her.

On the bright side –or rather, the dark side – this was definitely a change of scenery. For example, instead of an unmoving sun there was now… no sun at all. Yes, the forest was very, very dark. Except, of course, for the occasional very small clearing or path; all of which were lit as though by a dying fire even though Kagome had yet to see any fire.

Sometimes it was better not to ask.

Kagome was betting this was one of those times. If there were something in here that was going to kill her, she'd rather not know. In fact, she was pretty sure she didn't want to know about the things that would only _maim_ her either. No, she was perfectly content to walk the half hidden path, huddled behind Miroku, praying that his holy powers would keep anything dangerous far away.

Yes, that seemed like a very good plan to Kagome.

And apparently Miroku thought it was a pretty good idea as well.

Unlike their journey through the open fields, the two did not talk much. The most conversation they had had in hours was Miroku's whispered instructions for Kagome to avoid obstacles.

This had only changed within the last few minutes.

They had entered an area of the forest that was clearer, and brighter, and Miroku had stepped away to walk beside her now. He seemed more relaxed, and that helped Kagome relax as well. Which was how they ended up having the "conversation" about how much the forest stank.

"Well, at least it's a change." Kagome muttered to herself, scuffing her feet along the dirt path. Not necessarily a _good_ change, but definitely a change.

Kagome slanted a look at Miroku, trying to determine how open to continued conversation he might be. She was really, really tired of silence. Seeing his shoulders relaxed and his staff hanging casually at his side she decided conversation was probably alright, "Hey, Miroku? How big is this forest?"

"I haven't measured it, Kagome."

She rolled her eyes, "How long does it take to get through it? To the city?"

"I wouldn't know, I've never tried."

That got her interest. "Never," she stepped closer to him, trying to look at his expression, "Why not?"

"Good self-preservation instincts." His tone had become slightly clipped, and when he finished he clamped his lips in a thin line and looked away from her.

"That bad, huh?" she was trying to tease, but she sounded frightened. He turned to regard her honestly.

"Kagome, Labyrinth city is not a safe place for humans. It never has been. There was a time in my life when _nothing_ could convince me to go there." There was a raw edge to his voice that told her he wished he'd found his courage sooner. Was the person he was looking for in Labyrinth city? He was avoiding her gaze again. Knowing she had touched a sore spot, however inadvertently, Kagome allowed him to move ahead of her a little and moved her attention to her surroundings. After several, uncomfortably silent, moments Miroku stopped with a sigh.

"We may as well set up camp here." She looked up in surprise, "This is the safest spot in the forest, so far as I know." He explained.

Kagome accepted this mainly because she had no other choice. She didn't know enough about the forest to argue, and they couldn't walk forever. In fact, now that she thought about it, her feet were very sore. Wearily she nodded and sank down on a nearby rock.

"What do we need?"

He smiled as he settled on the ground across the path from her. "Nothing. A fire would just attract unwanted guests, and we've light and warmth enough." He paused thoughtfully, "though, if you're cold…" he trailed off with a suggestive smile that left her blushing to the roots of her hair.

"I'm just fine, thank you." And she had been _worried_ when he wasn't hitting on her? In retrospect she should have been grateful for the break.

Miroku observed her with a slight smile, but did not disturb her any further. In the quiet Kagome's thoughts turned inward and she absently chewed on a lock of hair before shoving it behind her ear. Reaching down she smoothed out her skirt.

"Miroku?"

He looked up at the gentle question; she wasn't looking at him and she spoke rather distractedly.

"Yes?"

"What time do you think it is?"

His brow furrowed as he studied her, "Time?" This got her attention.

"Yes, you know… morning, mid-day, evening, night… what time of day is it?"

He shrugged disinterested, "I wouldn't know. It would be difficult to measure such things…" he waved a hand toward the sky.

She returned her attention to her skirt, picking at imaginary lint, "oh, I guess so." She agreed half heartedly. They sat in silence a few more minutes before she spoke again, "how long do you think it's been since I met you?" her voice was very low, hesitant almost.

Miroku was a little concerned. Not that he thought she was in any danger, but she seemed so melancholy. He moved to sit closer to her and schooled his tone to be light and reassuring, "I'm not sure. Does it matter?" he tried to catch her gaze, to see her expression, but she kept her eyes averted.

She was quiet for so long that he thought perhaps she would not answer, but then she spoke and it was so soft he had to strain to hear her.

"I was just thinking about my mama." She confessed, "I wonder if she's worried."

Miroku didn't know what to say. How could he reassure this girl whose world was so different from his own? He had hardly even known his mother, had never had anyone to worry about his well being. In lieu of comfort her offered the only other thing he had… distraction.

Assuming his most playful expression he knelt in front of her and gently tugged her hands from her lap to his chest.

"_I'm_ worried," he told her, and she brought startled orbs to meet his gaze. "Worried that you haven't considered my offer seriously."

She blinked at him, adorably confused. He let one hand slip from hers to reach down, heading for her backside. His lids drooped in a sultry expression.

"You haven't told me, Kagome," her name was a soft caress, "will you bear my child?"

And abruptly the mood had completely changed. A resounding slap echoed around them and Kagome was standing in the path with her back to him.

"You stupid pervert!" she yelled. "I'm going to bed - _alone_." She sharply rebuffed him before he could make another inappropriate remark. "And I'd better wake up that way too." She stomped across to the other side of the path and laid down without turning to look at him.

Miroku gingerly rubbed his cheek, but he was still smiling. At least she wasn't so sad anymore. Silently he stretched out on his own side of the path. And just before he fell asleep he heard her call softly to him.

"Thank you, Miroku." And he knew that she understood.

* * *

Kagome wasn't sure how long she had been sleeping when the sound of a drumbeat reverberating through the forest floor brought her back from the land of dreams. Slowly she pushed herself into a half sitting position, rubbing her eyes sleepily. For a moment she couldn't remember what had awakened her, but then she felt the pulsating beat beneath her. 

"Miroku?" a soft whisper. She wasn't afraid, but she was very confused.

"I'm here, Kagome." He was sitting against a tree, eyes moving methodically, searching the surrounding trees.

"What is that?" she was almost awake now, stretching her arms and arching her back before crawling closer to him.

"The mimano."

As though _that _told _her_ anything. She came to sit beside him, turning her head to watch him.

"And the mimano are…?"

"Birds." He replied shortly, his head jerked slightly to one side, as though he had heard something that startled him. "Friendly ones." He continued.

She titled her head, tempted to wave a hand before his eyes to gain his attention. She decided against it. "If they're friendly, why do you look so…" she struggled to find the right word. He didn't really look worried, more like… ready for… something… action maybe? "vigilant?" She decided that was the word she was looking for.

"There are other forest creatures who would take this opportunity to do harm."

"Oh." She replied blankly. Still didn't make any sense to her. "So, what are we going to do?"

He finally turned to look at her, and she was surprised to see him smiling, "Why, my dear Kagome, we're going to join them."

"The mimano?" she asked blankly.

He didn't bother to answer and an instant later she found herself being towed down the path by a firm grip on her wrist.

"Come, Kagome, we musn't dawdle."

"Miroku!" she tugged on her wrist in an effort to free herself, "I can walk by myself!"

He didn't release her, and after several failed attempts she simply resigned herself to keeping up with him. No point in letting her wrist get raw, after all. At the rather hurried pace Miroku set it did not take them long to approach the sound of drums. After a few minutes Kagome could see the flickering of firelight through the trees, and soon they came into a large clearing. In the center of the clearing was a huge bonfire, and dancing around the fire were the most brilliant birds Kagome had ever seen. That wasn't to imply that they were intelligent, for Kagome had no way of knowing if they were or not, but rather that they were - quite simply – neon colored. From blinding yellow, to glaring red, with pink and orange in-between, it was nearly overwhelming and Kagome had to close her eyes a moment just to adjust.

She turned to her companion to find him remarkable unfazed by the cacophony of color and movement around them. In fact, Miroku was grinning.

Not his seductive "come hither" grin, not even his playful, teasing grin. This was a grin of unadulterated excitement.

"I haven't run across a mimano gathering in… a very long time." He turned the full force of his grin on her and it was nearly as blinding as the birds. Distractedly Kagome realized that he had very white and very _straight_ teeth – especially for a man who had never seen a toothbrush, let alone a dentist. "Can't you feel their excitement, Kagome?" he didn't seem to notice her rude staring. "The very forest feels alive!"

He looked very good when he was happy. The shadow of sorrow in his eyes faded even into non-existence, and the tension in his features melted away. He looked so very young now, and Kagome realized with a start that he was likely only five or six years older than she was.

"Come on, Kagome." He tugged at her hand and she stumbled after him, nearly overwhelmed by this series of seemingly trivial realizations.

But once Kagome was actually _inside_ the circle of mimano she had little chance to think. The birds were nearly riotous in their dancing, spinning first one way and then the other without pause. They shouted and cheered and laughed, and now that she was so near it was almost deafening. It was actually a little frightening in its intensity and Kagome wanted to withdraw, to regain her bearings. But just as she managed to free herself from Miroku's enthusiastic grasp she found herself face to beak with an extremely gangly bird.

"New are you?" it asked with unforced cheer, and Kagome could only nod in response. The bird nodded back, "we love new people!" Kagome had decided that it must be a he. The voice was just too deep to belong to a female. "Join the dancing." He encouraged, shooing her toward the center ring of dancers. Kagome wanted to protest, but she didn't have time before a smaller bird drew her into the next circle, laughing merrily.

"New? That's alright, you'll fit right in, right in." A female this time, Kagome realized. The bird guided her through a series of simple steps, encouraging her occasionally. It was actually enjoyable once she got used to all the busyness around her. Kagome soon felt a smile seep across her face. Miroku circled by, looking comically out of place in his dark robes.

"Having fun yet?" he called to her and she nodded.

* * *

Inuyasha was not having a good day. He was bored, and the ball hadn't allowed him a glimpse of Kagome in a very long time. To make matters worse he couldn't even sleep to kill some time because he only needed to sleep one full night every two weeks, and he had slept two nights before he appeared in Kagome's home. Sometimes being the Goblin King stunk… on second thought, he decided that it stank _all the time_. In fact, it positively reeked. 

He didn't know if he wanted to blame his brother or his father for that. After all, if his father hadn't given him the stupid title maybe Sesshoumaru would have left well enough alone.

Moodily Inuyasha stomped to his stone throne and threw himself onto it sideways. Hanging one leg over the arm while pulling the other up to rest his arm on it he glared at the crystal ball mere feet away.

"Stupid ball." He muttered, ears twitching, a clear sign of agitation.

He stared at the offending object sullenly for long minutes, tapered fingers and sharp claws tapping against his upraised knee.

Why wasn't the stupid thing cooperating today?

He jumped up and paced across the room, turning to toss a glare in the general direction of the ball. And then, out of the corner of his eye, he saw something. Only a flash and a swirl of color, but the ball was definitely reacting to something.

In a single leap Inuyasha had cleared the throne room and was standing before the pedestal which held his most treasured possession – his link to the outside world.

"What?" he leaned close over the ball, his clawed hands framing it without touching it as he tried to will the image into focus.

And then he realized that the image wasn't out of focus at all, it was just entirely too colorful and crowded.

"Mimano." He said with mild disgust. Stupid birds. What right did they have to be so cheerful all the time? He should feed them to one of the Labyrinth monsters. There were plenty on the dark side of the forest. But then he remembered that he had tried that once, about two hundred years before, and none of the monsters had been willing to eat them. All feathers and limbs – no meat.

Inuyasha didn't like the mimano; they reminded him of better times. Besides, only an idiot could be _that _happy all the time. There was also the fact that Inuyasha had never been fond of loud noises; with his sensitive ears it was to be expected. And bright colors sometimes hurt his eyes too. Then there was the fact that quick movements made him suspicious, especially when there was such a large crowd – easy cover for an assassin. So, all in all, the mimano were exactly the sort of group Inuyasha hated most. And being stuck here certainly hadn't softened that feeling.

The sound of footsteps approaching and then coming to a stop just outside the throne room distracted him for a moment; he looked up to see the same dark haired servant that had come before standing there, a pitcher and cup in hand. She was the only one of his servants who was willing to come here. A glimpse of her vacant eyes reminded him of the reason for that – she didn't have a choice. Honestly he found her vaguely disconcerting. He motioned for her to leave her burden in the doorway. She did so and then immediately turned and left, her steps graceful and athletic. Inuyasha threw a last token glare at the colorful birds in his seeing stone before turning to retrieve the offered refreshment from the hall. And then he caught sight of something that made him forget about creepy servants and much needed tea. He growled unconsciously.

What was _she_ doing there?

His claws flexed instinctively.

There, in the middle of the dancing birds, was Kagome. She was smiling and laughing and she looked breathtakingly beautiful. She looked happy.

He growled once more.

"Stupid, stupid girl." He cursed, "haven't you learned yet?" The coppery scent of blood seeped into the air, evidence that his claws had pierced his skin as he fisted his hands in frustration. He had thought she had learned her lesson earlier when he had killed the old bird. But apparently she was too easily distracted. Looked like it was time to remind her again.

And then… and then… a flash of dark robes and a golden staff crossed into view. Inuyasha recalled the servant so recently dismissed from his presence, and his thoughts, and a slow smile spread on Inuyasha's face, revealing the gleam of sharp fangs. Inuyasha saw opportunity. Now, while the girl was distracted – this was the time to put his plan in motion. He focused on the image of a man in holy robes and smiled.

* * *

It probably should have struck her as odd. 

Miroku's behavior that was.

True, he had shown a propensity toward unwarranted light heartedness before… but this shift from calm to excited was really startling. But then Kagome was beginning to realize that when one lived one's whole life in danger – pleasure must be taken where it could be found. There really wasn't time to build up to it or get in the mood or anything. And once she had joined in the party she realized the excitement of the mimano really was contagious. And Kagome really was having a wonderful time.

Every bird in the clearing was eager to dance and talk and laugh. They didn't care what dangers might come tomorrow - tonight they were safe. And they were incredibly curious. They didn't want details. They just wanted to know who she was, and what she thought. They didn't want to know how she got here or why, they didn't want to know about her past or anything else that might make her sad. They wanted to know what she liked. What style of music was her favorite, whether she preferred the intricate footwork of the dance circles or the exuberant arm motions of the crowd around the edges of the clearing. Each bird she came to asked her these questions until she didn't know which she preferred, she only knew that she hadn't felt this free in a very long time.

It was during one such conversation that she looked up and realized that Miroku was gone.

He was nowhere in the clearing.

She had just sat down to catch her breath, but she was back on her feet again in an instant. There was definitely no sign of the monk. He wasn't hard to find in this particular crowd. The mimano were tall, for birds, but even the tallest fell short of her shoulders, and Miroku was taller than she was. Plus, his dark robes made him stand out against the fluorescent birds. She jerked her head from side to side, eyes darting frantically as she scanned the clearing for any sign of him. And just when she was going to do _something_ (though _what_, exactly, she might do she had no idea) the object of her thoughts came back into the clearing.

He was walking slowly, wearily, his shoulders slumped. Did he have mood swings or something?

Waving in an effort to gain his attention she called his name. For just a moment he looked up at her and there was something desperately sad in his eyes. He looked almost in pain, as if he was literally being torn in two. But almost the moment his eyes met hers he forced the darkness away, adopting a small grin. Kagome tilted her head quizzically and he merely shook his head.

It was not until much later, once they had left the mimano clearing continuing into the heart of the Labyrinth, that she had a chance to ask him what had happened. And at that time he shrugged and told her it was unimportant. She didn't believe him, but the set of his shoulders and the way he deliberately looked away made it clear that he did not wish to speak of it. And she let it be. There were things about him she didn't think she wanted to know. Things that he had been through… things he was still working to get over… the things that hid behind the flirtatious smile and the twinkling eyes… And she reflected, sadly, on how hard life in this place must be.

* * *

o-o

* * *

A/N: Hey! So... I don't think I mentioned what Kagome was wearing before. If I placed her in something other than a skirt I apologize. The Mimano are based on the colorful birds in the movie Labyrinth, and as far as I can remember the girl really did meet them in a forest that was always dark. I couldn't remember what they were called though... Hope you are enjoying this so far.

reenas-as


	8. Definitely No Pixie Dust

Chapter 7: Definitely No Pixie Dust

Kagome was starting to enjoy herself. Since their impromptu party the night before things had definitely been looking up. Even the scenery had improved, and Kagome appreciated it. She had tried to ask Miroku about the sudden change, but he had answered that he had never been this far into the Labyrinth and refused to say anything else. He'd been somewhat sullen and withdrawn since last night, and Kagome didn't feel it was her place to push him. Besides, she was far too preoccupied with her surroundings to take the time.

This place was like nothing else Kagome had seen since her arrival in the field surrounding the Labyrinth. The Labyrinth was full of bogs and walls, emptiness and clutter, darkness and oppressive heat. But this place… it was beautiful.

The every present darkness had given way to a gentle sunlight which filtered through the trees in golden streams. The trees themselves were leafy and green, not huddled together, but pleasantly spaced. And the path through the forest was now clear and well-trodden. Instead of the dense, thorny undergrowth they had encountered on the outskirts of the forest they now passed by patches of colorful flowers. Kagome had even seen a stream, and the soothing trickle could still be heard. Occasionally she would catch a glimpse of what looked like butterflies flitting through the trees.

"Oh, look!" Kagome stopped as one of the colorful creatures landed on a tall flowering plant near her. Stooping down to get a closer looked she realized that it was not a butterfly at all. "It's beautiful." The _creature_ was a tiny fairy. Its skin faded from deep to light green and its ears were elegantly pointed. This one had the appearance of a woman with morning glory butterfly wings. As she watched it turned to look at her, blinking its enormous eyes and brushing back its long hair prettily. Kagome, in wonder, reached a hand slowly toward it.

"Kagome-" Miroku began in warning, but Kagome's hand had already reached the fairy. An instant later she let out a sharp yelp and jerked back in surprise.

"It _bit_ me!" indignant, she stood fully upright and cradled the offended digit. The fairy's whole body shook as it doubled over in silent laughter. Kagome glared at it.

Miroku barely contained a long-suffering sigh as he approached her and took her by the shoulders to turn her away, "of course. It _is_ a fairy. What did you expect?"

"Elegance, sweetness, and pixie dust." She grumbled, shooting a last angry look over her shoulder at the still laughing fairy.

When she turned back, Miroku was looking at her with a bemused expression, "In what world?"

"Oh, never mind." Kagome sighted. They seemed to run into this problem quite often. How long would it be before she remembered that _nothing_ here ever resembled her expectations?

"Let's go." Miroku gently guided her away, for once keeping his hands out of trouble. "We don't want to run into any more of them."

Kagome whole-heartedly agreed, though she wasn't certain the little creatures were quite as large a concern as Miroku's tone would seem to imply. Still, she was now more than willing to take his word for it.

As it turned out she should have been more concerned than she knew. While Miroku had told the truth when he had stated that he had never come this deeply into the forest, he had heard about it. And, his life in the Labyrinth had given him a sort of sixth sense anyway – any place this beautiful had to be a trap. In his mind the fact that this was the most benign and pleasant place he had ever been meant that it must also be the most deadly. And there was always the fact that his holy powers were raging inside him like a caged tiger.

Something was very wrong – he just didn't know what.

Unobtrusively he stepped a little closer to Kagome. Whatever happened, he wasn't going to let her out of his sight. He felt a momentary twinge of guilt at the hypocrisy of this. But what he had to do and what he wanted to do were not always the same thing. And right now he _wanted_ to protect Kagome, and since it had no bearing on what he would later _have_ to do… all else aside at this moment his loyalty was to her. He would not allow the Labyrinth to destroy her.

"Miroku?"

Preoccupied as he was with his own thoughts he nearly toppled over her when she abruptly stopped before him.

"What is that?"

He looked up to see a low fog creeping over the ground toward them. As if of its own volition his hand found hers and grasped it tightly. There was something very, very wrong here. He could feel his holy powers flare up within him.

"Kagome – we have to-"

But it was too late. The fog, which at first had crept along the ground, had surrounded them, completely engulfing them. Miroku was startled to find that he was no longer holding Kagome's hand, and she was – in fact – moving away from him. Not that she appeared to be walking, nor did he, but the distance between them was most definitely increasing. His mind swirled in panic as he stretched an arm toward her.

* * *

"Kagome!" Miroku was reaching toward her, calling her name in concern. And then he was gone, swallowed up in the ever thickening fog. Kagome fought back a nearly overwhelming surge of panic. He couldn't leave her here all alone!

The sound of a twig snapping shook her from her panic induced paralysis and she started in the direction she had last seen Miroku. Why couldn't she hear him anymore?

"Miroku!" she cried, not caring who, or _wha_t, else might hear her. She had to find him. "Miroku!" her pace increased until she was literally running, and still she found no sign of her companion. "Where are you?"

She knew this was pointless, she was just going to get lost running around like this. But she had to find him, because she couldn't do this alone. She just couldn't, because it wasn't fair - because it was unreasonable to expect her to find her own way through this death trap - because she was _scared_, darn it! And that should count for _something_!

"Who you looking for sis?" It was Souta's voice, and she jerked her head to her left to find him. There he was, sitting on their couch, TV remote in hand and staring at her with the most curious expression.

On the couch?

Somewhere in the back of her mind that didn't seem quite right, she was… somewhere else… wasn't she? But when she turned to look in the direction from which she had come she saw only their living room wall.

"Hello?" the sound of his voice drew her attention back to him, "Earth to Kag!".

Shaking her head she shrugged back her uncertainty and moved toward him. As she walked around the couch to sit beside Souta the feeling of disparity faded and she relaxed next to him.

"What makes you think I was looking for someone?" she asked disinterested, already focusing her attention on the TV.

Souta shrugged and returned his attention to the flickering commercials as well, "I don't know, you just looked kinda lost for a second there. Like you didn't expect to see me."

Kagome snorted a laugh, "that's ridiculous. Now shut up and let's watch something good."

* * *

Miroku wandered through the thick forest. He was looking for someone, but for the life of him he couldn't remember who… for some reason that didn't bother him as much as he thought it should have. And so Miroku kept walking, his pace calm and sedate. Whoever he was looking for would probably find him soon enough, of that he was confident, though on what he based his confidence he could not have said. And it was so like him, and yet so _unlike_ him that he actually laughed aloud.

"Miroku?" a soft, feminine voice called to him. And with sudden clarity he remembered that he was searching for a woman. Not wholly unexpected, but he then realized that he was searching for a _specific_ woman. Unbidden a name came to him _:Kagome:_ His brow creased with concentration. Where had he heard that name before?

He had altered direction, heading toward the sound of the woman who had called his name. And then he heard a shriek from that same direction. Immediately he quickened his pace to a dead run. Whoever she was, she was in danger.

Breaking into a small clearing he saw a girl with dark, wild, hair and brown eyes. Her clothing was foreign to him and he suddenly knew that this was Kagome.

"Kagome!" how he had come to be in her company or how well he knew her he did not recall, but at this moment it was of the utmost importance that he save her.

She was being carried away by a hideous demon. It had four arms, a bulky girth, and several horns scattered haphazardly about its head. Miroku charged it, whipping out several spiritual scrolls which he threw at the beast. They clung to the creature and immediately rendered it immobile. Miroku snatched the girl from its arms and placed her behind himself. Raising his staff he used the sharp edge to slice right through the monster. To his surprise the creature seemed to evaporate into thin air.

"Oh, Miroku." The young woman sighed against his back in relief and he turned to clasp her arms. But when she lifted her face to his he was surprised to see that she had changed.

The woman before him had dark hair and brown eyes, but her locks were perfectly tamed and her eyelids tinted pink. Her clothing was not so foreign at all. She wore a kimono in shades of pink and a green wrap around her waist. All thoughts of the strange girl called Kagome vanished in an instant. This woman he most certainly knew.

"Sango…" he breathed.

* * *

"Dinner time, wash up." Mrs. Higurashi wiped her hands on a towel as she stepped into the doorway of the living room to summon her children. Her eye lit on Kagome and she adopted a look of mild confusion. "Why, Kagome – I didn't expect to see you here tonight."

Kagome looked up and arched a brow, "Why not?" she lived here didn't she? And it wasn't like she went out much.

"Don't you have something to be doing?"

Kagome stood slowly, staring at her mother blankly, "I don't think so…" what was wrong with her mom?

Her mother shook her head, "No matter dear, come in to dinner."

And so Kagome did, but all through the meal her mother just kept _looking_ _at her_. It was making her decidedly uncomfortable and she found herself unable to remain still in her seat, instead shifting from side to side as though she were a five year old. Grandpa wasn't helping either. The moment she'd stepped into the room he'd scolded her for neglecting her duties. But when pressed to reveal _what duties_ she was neglecting he would not answer. Now he was staring at her sullenly over his bowl of rice. Only Souta didn't seem to have a problem with her being there, but even he had again asked her if she hadn't been looking for someone when she had first come home.

She denied it, of course. Who would she be looking for? Her family was all here. Even Buyo – who never missed a meal. So what was their problem?

Finally unable to endure their scrutiny any longer Kagome set down her bowl (with slightly more force than was necessary) and requested permission to leave the table. Her mother granted it and she walked rather moodily into her room where she shut the door and attempted to work on her homework. But after fifteen minutes and nearly as many failed attempts to make it through the first paragraph of her history book she gave up and instead flipped on the radio.

* * *

Miroku could not remember the last time he had been this genuinely content. He felt as though nothing could go wrong, and nothing could ever be better than this moment.

"Miroku?" Miroku looked over at the beautiful woman beside him. She was sitting with her legs modestly tucked under her. "I don't think you're paying attention to me at all." She accused suspiciously, "and that is unusual."

A slow, sensuous, grin slide over his features, softening them, "Why, my dear Sango – allow me to lay your fears to rest…" his hand was creeping toward her backside, and then it was in the air, suspended by her grip on his wrist. Her eyes were dangerously narrow, and her lovely mouth twisted into a displeased frown.

"Hand to yourself _monk_." She snapped, literally tossing his hand back at him. "Stupid pervert." The grumbled complaint was difficult for him to catch as she averted her face from him.

He gave a dramatic sigh and leaned around her to catch her eye. "I can't help it you know. It's my hand – it's-"

"Cursed. I know." She interrupted him, rolling her eyes and turning toward him once more. "When are you going to grow up, Miroku?"

That hurt more than he cared to admit, but he wasn't going to let her see that. After all, it would ruin a perfectly wonderful day. And Miroku was incredibly skilled at subduing negative thoughts and feelings. Hadn't he been doing that his entire life? He glanced down at his right hand and the beads that covered his painful memories. Yes, he suppressed his negative thoughts quite well.

"Sorry." Miroku looked up to see that Sango's eyes had also wandered to his 'cursed' hand. "You grew up a long time ago."

Miroku smiled in attempt to erase the sadness from her eyes, "as did you." He whispered, reaching out a finger to gently stroke her cheek. He was mildly surprised that she allowed the touch. Sango was not against innocent physical contact, but she did not often trust him so soon after an attempt to… take advantage of her… He let his hand fall to his side once more and turned his attention to the forest before them. It had been too long since he had enjoyed a moment like this.

"Sango?"

"Hmmm?" she seemed languid, her head coming to rest on his shoulder. This truly surprised him and his head jerked quickly to glance at the top of her head.

"I've missed you…" he whispered, afraid that if he spoke too loudly she'd come to her senses and slap him – or maybe knock him over the head with that weapon of hers. That gave him pause… he hadn't noticed her weapon with her. She always kept it with her. Surreptitiously he glanced around the clearing for it. No sense giving her ideas.

"Missed me?" she echoed, "have I been gone?"

Again his eyes moved to glance at her head, narrowing with intensity as though by force of will he could see through her skin and into her thoughts.

"Yes." He answered slowly.

"I don't remember." She looked up at him with a smile before resuming her earlier position, "now is too wonderful to remember before. I missed you…"

Now Miroku was getting that feeling again - the one he got when his holy powers were trying to tell him that something was very wrong. He didn't want to hear that voice _darnit_, he wanted to stay here, with _her_ and just be happy for once in his miserable life! To really _be_ happy, and not just pretend. He frantically, though discreetly, scanned the surrounding area, searching in earnest for hiraikotsu. It _had_ to be here. Sango would never go anywhere without her weapon.

"Sango?" he tried to force a casual tone. "Did you lose your weapon when the creature attacked you?"

"My weapon?" she gave a light laugh, "why are you thinking of my weapon at a time like this? I'd much rather think about more pleasant things."

He looked at her with renewed suspicion. That sounded nothing like the Sango he knew. "Maybe we should look for it." He suggested, "it is probably in need of repair."

"It can wait, Miroku." She sounded upset, or maybe testy was a better word. Whatever it was it was definitely all wrong. His holy sense was practically overwhelming him, screaming for him to fight. But he didn't even know what he was supposed to fight.

"Oh, Miroku," she reached her arm up to weave her fingers through his hair, "can't you just forget about all that for a little while." She was pressed against him, and any other time he would have found it nearly impossible to think, but now his mind was racing and his holy powers flaring, "stay with me." She whispered into his ear, her tongue flicking out to taste him.

And then she found herself abruptly bereft of one monk as he shot to his feet and took up a defensive position facing her.

"Who are you?" he ground out between clenched teeth. He was angry with whoever dared use his inmost desires against him - angry with himself for not realizing the truth sooner. Sango was gone! He knew that. And Kagome – _Kagome_ needed him now!

She looked hurt, but he wasn't falling for it. Deceive a man once and you are clever, deceive him twice and he is a fool. She stood slowly and made as if to come near him, but he raised his staff warningly.

"What is this?" he demanded.

"Miroku," she said softly, "isn't this what you've always wished for? Join me." She stretched her hands toward him and he shook his head violently. Something was wrong with him; his thoughts were too cloudy, his movements too sluggish.

"Where are we?" there was nothing gentle in his tone now. He needed to know what was going on.

She smiled gently, "We're right where you began."

Began? Where had he been? He had been… looking for Sango… no – for… someone. Who? He had known just a moment before, but now… He couldn't focus, and he could see her smile growing as he attempted to concentrate. Angry, he allowed his holy powers free reign; they flared violently clearing his head and causing the woman to step back.

Kagome. He had been looking for Kagome.

Looking for her because… because… because a fog had separated them! But where was the fog?

And as soon as he thought it he could see it, swirling in the air around him. The woman across the clearing looked almost frightened.

"Stop, Miroku." She pleaded softly, entreating him with her eyes. But he would not be seduced.

This place was still wrong. He had been… in the dark forest. Only, it hadn't been dark, it had been gentle sunlight and beauty, and he wasn't in a clearing, he was on a path.

And he could see it, faintly as though the clearing he was standing in was overlaid on the path he remembered. And the woman was fading too, and he suddenly knew – he knew what was happening.

"An illusion!" he cried.

And with his words the illusion fell away to reveal that he was lying on the very path he remembered last walking upon. And above him, hovering all around, were dozens upon dozens of fairies.

"Be gone!" he jumped to him feet causing the fairies to scatter. He could feel his holy power sparking at them, forcing them back. And then he looked away to find Kagome on the ground several feet away. She too was surrounded by fairies, and she was mumbling to herself, speaking to … her mother…

And then Miroku knew what had happened.

He had heard stories of fairies, but he had rarely run across one, and had never seen so many. But the stories said that fairies fed off dreams. They would trap men in their web and force them into never ending sleep, draining their very life energy slowly away. He had never put much stock in such tales, but now… he remembered the uneasy feeling he had had all morning, and the sudden rise of fog…

If the tales were true, then it was likely only his holy power had saved him. And Kagome had no such advantage, which meant that she was in very real danger. He didn't know if he could do anything to help her at this point, but he knew he had to try.

All this he processed in a mere instant, and then he was running toward her and into the heart of the fairy swarm.

"Detestable creatures!" Miroku cried, "Let – her – go." Each word was punctuated and separated by the swing of his staff.

The fairies scattered, desperately trying to avoid danger, but they did not go far off. Clearly they were still hoping to keep their prey.

Miroku plunged into the thick of them – he was not going to let that happen.

* * *

Kagome was sitting under the goshinboku. This was her favorite spot in all the world. It was so peaceful, and the tree made her feel anchored, safe. That was something she desperately needed right now – she was so confused…

Her family had been behaving strangely ever since last night.

As she sat, lost in thought, her mother came to sit beside her. Her mother did not look at her, only at the tree, but her words were clearly for Kagome. "Thinking of another place?" she asked.

Kagome looked at her in bewilderment. "No mama."

"Oh?" her mother looked surprised, "shouldn't you be?"

Kagome shook her head, grasping her mother's hand to keep her attention. "Mama, I don't know what you're talking about! Can't you just tell me?" she was pleading, but she didn't care.

Her mother smiled sadly, "I can't. Kagome, some things you must do on your own."

"But I don't understand." Kagome's grasp tightened, "You keep saying there's somewhere else I need to be. But I don't know where that is!" and her mother opened her mouth to answer. But whatever it was she might have said, Kagome never heard, for in the next moment her mother was fading away, replaced by shadowed forest and a cold dirt path.

It was as though she could feel the world shift around her. One moment she was at home sitting by the old tree, and the next she was awake, and she realized it was only a dream. She was still in the Labyrinth, and something was terribly wrong. Why was she lying on the ground? She heard Miroku near by and tried to sit up, but, though she could now see her true surroundings, she found herself unable to move, to help, to react.

Hundreds of colorful winged beings – fairies, Kagome realized - had surrounded Miroku and were circling around him. The monk was swinging his staff in wide arcs.

"I won't let you have her!" he shouted between strokes. "Go away, miserable vermin!"

They were laughing at him. That silent laughter that left Kagome feeling as though she had heard a chorus of tinkling bells, without her having heard any noise at all.

She tried to cry out to him, but her lips would not move and her voice made no sound. This was torturous - far worse than their earlier dangers because in this instance she was absolutely helpless. Miroku was obviously outnumbered.

He glanced back at her in anguish, but he did not seem to realize that she had awakened. A fairy moved toward her, a swirling fog emanating from its beating wings. Miroku let out an inhuman shout and withdrew several sealing scrolls from his robes; throwing them into the air he uttered a chant and they seemed to take on life, hovering around him and shooting out to form a circle surrounding the fairies. They then proceeded to spin rapidly creating the appearance of a cyclone. As Kagome watched Miroku raised his right hand to hold it before his face, first and middle finger upright and almost touching his lips in a gesture Kagome had seen martial artists use, and then the chant was finished and the scrolls shone so brightly it hurt her eyes. A current seemed to spark between them, and the fairies let out a shriek that somehow made no true sound before collapsing to the forest floor.

Miroku nearly collapsed as well – it was clear he had overexerted himself with such a show of power. But his concern for Kagome overrode any weariness and he forced himself to walk to her before falling to his knees.

When the fairies hit the ground Kagome had felt as though a jolt had gone through her, overwhelmed she had been unable to keep her eyes open. In fact, she was later fairly certain that she had fainted. That was the only logical way to account for her position upon opening her eyes once more.

Miroku, having taken a moment to catch his breath and steady himself, had placed a hand against her neck to feel for her pulse. Satisfied that she was still alive he attempted to rouse her by calling her name, but was alarmed to find that even shaking her gently by the shoulders produced no response.

He was certain that killing the fairies had freed her from their grasp, and when he reached out with his aura this assumption was confirmed. So then, she was now merely asleep. An intense relief swept through him and he allowed himself to relax. Since he no longer needed to worry about her safety Miroku was at his leisure to wake her, and after several moments stumbled upon a sudden and rather appealing idea.

His lips tugged upward in a grin that would have been charming had there been anyone to see it, but when coupled with the gleam in his eye any woman who knew him would have been immediately suspicious.

Sliding his hand behind Kagome's neck and into her hair Miroku slowly leaned toward her. His eyes closed in anticipation, but the instant before his lips would have touched hers Kagome's eyes snapped open.

"What do you think you're doing, _monk_?"

Miroku opened his eyes and assumed an innocent expression Kagome knew better than to trust,

"My dear Kagome, I was simply attempting to revive you be any means necessary."

"I'll bet." She pushed herself into a sitting position and leveled him with a look that immediately caused him to back away. The man didn't even know what CPR _was_ and he was still trying to use it as an excuse! "Thanks." She said dryly.

"Of course, Kagome." Miroku stuck his hands in his sleeves and stood to his feet. "Always happy to help. " He reached a hand down to help her to her feet, and Kagome stared at it suspiciously for a moment before placing her hand in his. "Shall we be off then?"

She nodded and brushed herself off before following after him, intent on demanding an explanation for what had just happened to them.

* * *

A/N: I really tried to update yesterday, but wouldn't let me... I'm forry guys! Anyway, this is based on a five second scene from the movie where someone warns the main character not to touch a fairy and she does and she gets bit... I always thought that was the best scene ever... Stupid fairies...

reenas-as


	9. I'm Sorry

Chapter 8: I'm Sorry

Once Kagome had come to fully understand what had happened to them, or rather _nearly_ happened to them, she was understandably wary. If by wary one meant paranoid… In fact, Miroku was fairly certain it was the better part of a day before she relaxed enough to let go of his sleeve. He had never thought he could find the near proximity of a woman anything but pleasant, but when said woman was very scared and prattling nervously he did indeed find her proximity less than desirable. It didn't help that her grip tightened at every small noise until he was certain all blood flow to his hand had been cut off permanently.

Miroku did his best to keep a cheerful countenance, but now that the immediate danger was over he found himself in danger of being wrapped up in his own dark thoughts again.

_:why:_ he wondered darkly. Why did he have to do this?

Fortunately for both parties Kagome's nature could not long withstand fear or desolation and she at last became comfortable once more. Of course, she still thought this place was crazy. Crazy and homicidal. She wondered if anyone had ever described a _place_ as homicidal before. But there it was – the Labyrinth willfully desired her destruction, of that she was certain. And it was all the fault of some stupid, stuck-up, demon Lord she had never met. That was infuriating.

What right did the guy have to make other peoples' lives miserable just because he wanted his brother to come to terms with his humanity? And what did she have to do with it anyway? For all she cared Sesshoumaru and Inuyasha could rot…

Kagome sighed; when had she become so uncharitable? Perhaps when she had realized that her life was going to be threatened at least a dozen times a day? Not that she had figured out how to tell when a day had passed in this place.

One more thing to add to her list of complaints against the Labyrinth.

This train of thought naturally led her to thoughts about people who had to live in this place, which led to thoughts about Miroku, which caused her to watch him, qnd in the end led her to contemplate asking him just what he had dreamed about when they were under the fairies' power.

She couldn't, of course, it wasn't as though they were _close_ or anything. And they had already talked about so much. But she couldn't touch on that subject, because the look in his eyes told her that he had been reminded of _her_. Not that he had ever told her there was a woman, but there had to be. The way he had abruptly cut off when he was speaking about the other humans who lived in the Labyrinth, the closed look he occasionally got when they spoke of his past. Miroku was a hopeless flirt, but at least once in his life he had truly loved someone.

Maybe that was _why_ he was now a hopeless flirt – maybe it kept him from getting too close…

She didn't think that was too likely.

Since she couldn't exactly come out and ask him about something like that she would have to settle for something less personal. They could both use the distraction of conversation, she decided, for Miroku looked as miserable as she felt.

"Miroku," she came up beside him again and he acknowledged her with a weary, but sincere, smile.

"Yes, Kagome?"

She smiled a little at that. He never missed an opportunity to use her name.

"How much farther to the city, do you think?"

For a moment his look became dark, but almost as quickly as his expression had changed it returned to his normal, easy, look. "I have no way of knowing." He admitted, "you'll recall that I have never traveled this far into the forest."

She eyed him, "You seem awfully confident in choosing our path for someone who doesn't know where we're going." She was teasing, but apparently he failed to realize that.

"Instinct," he responded, "you'd be amazed how handy holy powers can be in a place like this. Almost as good as a compass." The defense came a little too quickly, and it made Kagome uncomfortable. She shrugged the feeling away – he had given her no reason to doubt him. After all, all he had done since their first meeting was save her life again and again.

And now they were once more walking in silence, which bothered Kagome for obvious reasons. Silence left far too much time to think about how much she wanted out of this place. When she got her hands on Inuyasha she was going to strangle him. Never mind that he had fangs and claws, and was probably about seventy times stronger than she could ever hope to be. Impossible as it seemed she _would_ find a way, even if it killed her – which it probably would…

Alright, so maybe this wasn't the best line of thought either. With a sideways glance at her companion she decided to give it another shot.

"Hey, Miroku?"

He almost sighed, "Yes, Kagome?" there was no smile this time, but he didn't really look upset either, just rather indifferent.

"What did you do before you met me?"

He was obviously startled by the question.

"Do?" he echoed blankly.

She nodded, "Yes, you had to do something didn't you? I mean," she shifted uneasily, clasping her hands behind her back, "You didn't just stand at that pit waiting for someone to fall, right?"

He gave a short laugh, "No, Kagome, I most certainly did not."

She looked comically relieved, "Oh… good. Then what _did_ you do?"

She wasn't going to let this go. After all, it seemed the safest topic available.

He smiled once more, his posture relaxing almost imperceptibly. In fact, the only reason Kagome even noticed was that his staff suddenly lowered a bit, a sure sign that he had relaxed his grip on it.

"I… wandered." He said simply.

That answer explained everything and nothing all at once, and it did not at all satisfy her, that was obvious from the look she threw at him.

Miroku shrugged, "What else can I say? I walked through the outer rings of the Labyrinth searching for food and shelter and avoiding traps."

She was looking at him incredulously, "That's it?"

"What else was there to do?" he questioned, "There is nothing here but to survive." There had been other things once upon a time. But at this point in his life, that was truly all there was. Each day was the same worthless cycle. Thinking about it now he wondered how he had ever endured it – alone and without direction – and he wondered despairingly how he would deal with it again once Kagome was… but if he thought about that he wouldn't be able to do this. And he certainly wouldn't be able to face her, so he pushed the unwelcome thoughts aside.

"Kagome," he was looking at her with such a compassionate expression, as though he felt sorry for her because she had no hope of understanding, "this is what life is in the Labyrinth."

"But what about friends, family? The man who raised you?" she questioned rapidly, "don't you ever see them?"

He shook his head gently, "The man who raised me is dead, as is my mother. And as for friends… one does not often have the opportunity of making them in this place."

But that wasn't entirely true. He had had friends once… until they had been taken from him.

More dark thoughts for another time. And besides, perhaps soon that would not be so true.

He decided to redirect the conversation, "What do you do in your own world?" he asked, truly curious.

"Well," she seemed to consider, "I go to school, and do homework, and eat at WacDonald's with my friends, and try to avoid Hojo because after thirty two thousand rejections he still insists on asking me to the movies every weekend…"

Miroku's eyes widened, "Thirty two _thousand_?" he wondered, wide-eyed, "such persistence."

"Well," Kagome looked away sheepishly, "I guess it isn't really that many, but he's been asking me out every weekend for almost two years."

Miroku was still impressed with such persistence in the face of obvious rejection and wondered that Kagome did not feel the weight of this compliment to her own charms. That any man would pursue a woman who was so obviously disinterested in him…

Not that Miroku didn't chase his share of disinterested women… but that was different. It wasn't as though he chased the _same_ disinterested woman all the time. Though there had been a time that he had…

And there went those thoughts he didn't want again. Was there no safe topic of conversation in the world any longer? Or was it just that it was so close to the forefront of his thoughts since that night…

"Miroku?"

He welcomed the intrusion. This forest was doing strange things to him. Miroku was always smiled and winks and bright eyes and easy laughter. He didn't allow himself to think about the truth of life, because the truth was so depressing. So why was that all he could think about now?

"Yes, Kagome."

"Are we there yet?" she raised her voice to mimic a young child and then grinned at his confused expression. There was no way Miroku would get the joke, she had known that before she said it, but there was something about seeing him look so sad… it wasn't right, and it frightened her, so she had done the only thing she could think of.

"Ummm…" he considered her for a moment, probably trying to decide if she had lost her mind, "No?"

He was adorable! Kagome quickly squashed the thought. If Miroku knew she thought he was cute she would never get rid of him.

"I'm just kidding, Miroku." She flashed her most winsome smile at him, the one she used on Hojo when she was trying to let him down nicely.

"I see…" he was still giving her that look. Obviously he _did not_ see, but that wasn't important. What _was_ important was that he didn't look melancholy anymore. It seemed all they did in this stupid forest was try to distract one another out of depression – which was, in its own way, rather depressing itself…

"You know what, Miroku?" She stepped in front of him, walking backwards with her hands clasped behind her. He tilted his head and wondered how she managed to avoid tripping over the rocks she could no longer see…

Her smile widened cheerfully, "I'm glad-" she wanted to tell him that she was gald to have met him, that she was so grateful not to have to do this alone, but she never got the chance because, at that moment, Kagome was suddenly pounced from behind.

"Aaaaaaaaaaieeeeeeeeeeeee!"

Kagome's shriek made Miroku wince and it took him a moment to collect himself enough to raise his staff and pull out a sealing scroll.

"Yeesh, Kagome, you'd think someone was trying to kill you!" a very young voice spoke up far too close to her ear. Kagome straightened from the half crouch she had instinctively fallen into and suddenly realized that there was a definite, though slight, weight on her right shoulder.

Miroku raised the sealing scroll in preparation and Kagome, still desperately trying to process all that had happened in the last few seconds, instinctively pulled her occupied shoulder away from the monk and threw up her left arm as a shield.

"Miroku, wait!"

At the same time the voice yelped, a little too loudly, "You can't attack me! I'm just a kid!"

And finally, _finally_, Kagome realized who it was.

"Shippo!" She reached up to pull him off her shoulder. Shippo watched her uncertainly – that tone could have meant excitement or annoyance, he wasn't certain which.

"You know her?" slowly Miroku lowered his arms, slipping his scroll back into his robes.

Shippo's uncertainty was forgotten in a fit of indignation and he jumped out of Kagome's light hold, "I'm a _boy_!" he informed Miroku, none too politely. "Obviously." He huffed and crossed his small arms, turning his back deliberately on the monk.

"My apologies." Miroku was looking at Kagome for some signal as to how he should treat the intruder, but she was just staring at the kit.

"Whatever." The kit couldn't resist the urge to peek over his shoulder at Miroku. Apparently deciding that he looked sufficiently repentant, Shippo shifted so that his back was no longer to Miroku. Instead, he now stood at an angle so that he could easily look between the two humans. He suddenly realized that Kagome was still watching him and he shifted uneasily, eyes darting to the path.

"Hey, Kagome." He offered, trying to sound cheerfully brave, and failing quite spectacularly.

"Shippo." She observed in a monotone.

Miroku watched the exchange in confusion.

Shippo laughed nervously. "It's uh, been a while huh?" he rubbed the back of his head, still unwilling to look at her.

"Mm hmm." Miroku decided that her face was taking on a rather maternal quality. "Not since that game of hopscotch." She observed, watching the boy for a reaction.

"Yeah…" the kit was getting more nervous by the second, and Miroku was getting tired of looking back and forth between the two. He wished they would get to the point.

"You know, the one where I nearly fell to my death, and _you_ disappeared."

Miroku's eyes widened as he suddenly caught up. He knew the end of this story – it ended when he caught Kagome and pulled her into the clearing. Interesting. So she had had a guide for the first portion of her journey as well. He looked at the kit with new interest.

"Where did you go?" Kagome's question was blunt, her tone flat.

"I had an errand to run."

She eyed him suspiciously, "You bailed on me." She accused.

For a moment he looked like he would protest and then he deflated, "So what if I did." He said sulkily, "I'm back now."

"Mmmhmm." Kagome didn't look convinced.

Surprisingly it was Miroku who broke the tension. "Oh well," he said, draping his arm over Kagome's shoulders casually. "No harm, no foul. Kagome is safe. Thanks to me."

The kit eyed him knowingly, "Well she isn't dead, I'll give you that. But I'd hardly call her _safe_."

Kagome started, as though the exchange had suddenly brought her out of a deep sleep and she smiled.

"Be nice, Shippo." She scolded, skillfully ducking out from underneath Miroku's arm.

Shippo looked up hesitantly, "does that mean you forgive me."

She held out her arms, "Of course." He jumped into her hug and then settled on her shoulder. "Just don't do it again."

Kagome wasn't really angry. After all, there wasn't much the kit could have done to help her. He was under no obligation to her, and he was just a kid after all… she had just been thrown off balance by his sudden appearance.

Relieved, Shippo snuggled into the crook of her neck and shoulder and sighed in contentment.

It was just like a spat between siblings – a moment of anger, an instant of petulance, and then it all blew over and things were just like before.

Sometimes the kit reminded her so much of her younger brother.

Brother…

_:And what about Souta: _Kagome started as the suggestion whispered through her mind. Souta? Her little brother… that was why she was here. To save him.

When had she forgotten that?

It had been days since she could remember thinking about him – well except for that fairy fog induced vision, and even then she hadn't been worried about him. Just what kind of sister was she to forget about him? Especially since it was her fault that he was gone.

Kagome absently reached a hand to stroke Shippo's tail as she was consumed by her thoughts. Shippo darted a worried glance at her absent expression and then hugged closer to her.

"So," he chirped brightly, "What'd I miss?"

* * *

They had stopped briefly to take a meal – provided courtesy of Shippo – and during that time Miroku had slipped away for a few minutes. When he had returned he had once again been melancholy. Kagome was beginning to wonder if he was bipolar or manic-depressive or something. She supposed not, but the guy definitely suffered from mood swings. 

They had resumed walking at a faster pace and all her attempts to draw the monk out had failed miserably. She was beginning to wonder if there was something seriously wrong. Maybe Miroku had found out something about that person he was looking for, but he didn't want to burden Kagome? He did have that look in his eyes, the one he got every time she said something that reminded him of that person.

Shippo wasn't very talkative either. He didn't seem as though he liked the forest much. This probably spoke volumes about his feelings for her since he had obviously braved the wilderness to find her, but he had also abandoned her once before… she wondered what had happened to change his mind, or how he had even known that she was still alive.

Whatever the reason, between his behavior and Miroku's she was utterly and thoroughly confused.

Miroku stopped walking so abruptly that Kagome literally bumped her nose against his shoulder.

"Ow…" she stepped back and rubbed it surreptitiously.

"Kagome," when she looked up he was staring at her intensely, his eyes dark and stormy, "I just wanted to tell you-"

But whatever he had been going to say was lost in the chaos that suddenly broke out on the forest path. From the trees around them and the path on either side of them came dozens of creatures in armor, all holding swords. Shippo bounded onto her shoulder and squeezed close to her, nearly cutting off her air supply. She just looked at them all, confused. Her gaze darted to Miroku and she was surprised to see that he didn't look startled, only resigned.

"Miroku?" her whisper was tremulous and his gaze was so sorrowful she hurt for him. Something was terribly wrong.

"I'm sorry." He whispered, stepping back from her as the guards approached. She looked at him, eyes wide and wounded, clearly not understanding, and he couldn't meet her gaze. "I'm so sorry."

And Kagome's eyes never left his downcast form as the guards circled her and grabbed her. Her thoughts were moving too quickly to catch one and really examine it, a muddled mess of fears and realizations. He looked so sad, so… guilty. Shippo was gone again, but that didn't matter. The guards were dragging her away, but she didn't even notice. They were between her and Miroku, blocking him from her vision. She didn't see him suddenly look up; she didn't see the desperation on his face. She certainly didn't see him attempt to break through the barrier of creatures between them, suddenly, frantically, trying to reach her. She didn't hear him shout her name in agony as they brutally pushed him back, striking him and laughing at his obvious pain. She didn't see them holding him back; she only saw that instant in which he had stepped out of their way. And she only wondered why he hadn't tried to help her. And then realization struck without mercy.

"I'm sorry!" he shouted. But the words were drowned out by the voice that screamed in her head - _:he betrayed me:_

_

* * *

_

A/N: Sorry I was late - I went to Anime Expo yesterday As you can see, Shippo has returned!... and then left again.But he'll probably be back. In fact, most of what you want to happen will probably happen. Except that the hot demon from the chapter with too many Miroku's won't be back. Sorry... he was just some random stalker who has now dissappeared. He may be creepy, but he's a man... err... demon of his word

Oh! And Kagome won't have holy powers. The plot is based on the Movie not the show and I consider holy powers to be more of a plot thing in Kagome's case... besides, it wouldn't have a point in this story. Sorry for those of you who were hoping. And, in case you were still in the dark about how Kagome got into the Labyrinth, I hope you have now crossed "holy power potential" off your list. Not the answer - at all...

On another note: why are anime fans so obsessed with homosexuality? There are so many talented people I would love to link but can't because half their stuff is... "interesting". And before you even think it, don't write me and say I'm closed minded.I don't like art or stories where straight coupled do more than kiss either, andmy closest friend is gay. I don't have to like his life style CHOICE to love him. Anyway, see what conventions do to me?You could almost feel the soap box coming... but I crushed it with my wieght so I had to speak on soap box pieces... not nearly as effective. But hopefully not as annoying and self-righteous either...


	10. Without Reason

Chapter 9: Without Reason

Kagome hadn't struggled, her heart was too heavy with desolate revelation to do anything but follow wherever she was prodded. The same weary, painful, thought kept running through her mind.

_Betrayed._ _He had betrayed her._

Why did that surprise her? Why did it hurt so much? She hadn't been this hurt when Shippo had deserted her – not even the second time, because by now she had realized that he had left her once again. But Miroku… why did Miroku matter so much? Maybe it was that he hadn't run in fear, he hadn't just _abandoned_ her – he had protected her, but it was all a lie.

And what did the guards want with her anyway? If they worked for Inuyasha they had no reason to arrest her. After all, wasn't she trying to find Inuyasha anyway? He didn't need to manhandle her to get her attention. She was coming as fast as she could. Maybe he had changed his mind and now he wanted to kill her. Or maybe it was some unwritten Labyrinth code designed solely to keep people like her completely in the dark. Right now her head was spinning so fast she could hardly keep upright.

Maybe there was no reason. But there _had_ to be. Didn't there? If there was no reason… well, then what did it matter? If there wasn't a reason they should just let her go.

The thoughts kept coming and then twisting out of her reach, forming a complicated lattice of intersecting, knotted strands.

And not once did it occur to her that whatever their reason the guards were taking her closer to her ultimate goal. They were clearly headed to Labyrinth City.

* * *

He wished they wouldn't handle her so roughly. He supposed he should have given more specific orders, but frankly he hadn't thought of it at the time. In fact, he wasn't much given to thinking at all.

Inuyasha growled as one of his men pushed her a little too hard and she stumbled.

This was not working out as he had planned.

He had only wanted her out of the Labyrinth's grasp. The city was no picnic, but it was infinitely better than the outer territories. He had only wanted to keep her safe.

That certainly wasn't what it looked like though, even to him.

He glared at the crystal ball as though it were the object's fault instead of his own.

Maybe he should have just asked her to accept an escort instead of forcing that monk to turn her over. Except that he couldn't because it went against the stupid rules, and even he wasn't allowed to break them.

He couldn't lead anyone into the Labyrinth's heart. But he could _force prisoners_ here.

And so he had come up with a plan to turn Kagome into his prisoner. It was actually fairly ingenious, especially when one considered who had come up with the plan. It would never have fooled an actual person, but the Labyrinth wasn't a person, it was just a stupid place, and as long as she was labeled a prisoner he was allowed to bring her wherever he wanted.

He hadn't thought about how much it would hurt her.

And he hadn't considered what would happen after.

Now he couldn't help thinking that it was probably the dumbest thing he had ever done – except, maybe, for taking her stupid little brother in the first place.

Honestly, it had never occurred to him that she might actually _love_ the runt. And who could blame him considering his background? His own familial relations had been far from normal, but they were the only context he had for understanding other people's relationships. He and his brother had never been close. Hadn't his older brother locked him up in this stupid place? Somehow he had just assumed no one else loved their siblings either.

Obviously Kagome did though; which was why he was taking very good care of Souta.

In the end it didn't matter though, because even though Souta was alright, and even though Inuyasha had come up with a way to get Kagome safely through the most dangerous portion of the Labyrinth, and even though she was headed right for his castle, he would be powerless once she got here.

After all, he still wasn't allowed to just hand her brother back to her. She had to work for it, had to go through some sort of ordeal. The Labyrinth always demanded a price. And he wasn't even sure it was _possible _for her to free Souta. No one had ever tried such a thing before.

Plus, she was now a prisoner of the Labyrinth as well, by his own proclamation.

And this was the real issue.

He didn't know if he would be able to release her. He had never attempted to release a prisoner before. Would he be able to let her go? If he could, would she remain in the castle once he did? It was entirely possible that she would simply be sent back to her home. And that wasn't a good thing for so many reasons. And it was probably a moot point anyway because if he couldn't free Souta how could he free Kagome? Granted he actually _cared_ for Kagome, so technically he fit the qualifications to free her, but didn't that mean that _he_ would have to undergo an ordeal?

It was just too confusing.

Who gave his brother the right to make up all these crazy rules anyway!

He wished Sesshoumaru was with him at that moment. He would have crushed his windpipes. He cracked his knuckles at the thought; someday that jerk was going to pay.

Gleeful thoughts of his older brother's impending destruction were cut off by another glance of Kagome through the ball.

Could he let her go?

Even if the Labyrinth let him, if he could get past all the layers of guidelines and stupid rules, the laws that governed everything that happened here, could he really let her go?

Would he?

Wasn't this what he had wanted all along? For Kagome to be here with him?

When the time came could he bring himself to let her go?

He wasn't sure. Everything that he was screamed no. No, he couldn't let her go. He couldn't go back to being alone. He couldn't. He wouldn't. But the look on her face… she was so sad, she was in so much pain. Would that look ever go away if he made her stay here against her will?

He sank down onto his throne and pressed a hand to his temples. All this thinking and self evaluation made his head hurt. And none of it mattered anyway because it was entirely likely that he would never have to make that choice. The Labyrinth would probably make it for him.

* * *

Kagome felt numb. If she had been able to think she would have thought that this was even worse than the echoing sadness of betrayal. At least then she had known who she was.

As it was she wasn't thinking at all. She couldn't.

It hurt too much. It felt… well, everything she had thought of sounded too worn out and clichéd to truly express what it felt like. But it hurt worse than anything she had ever known. Kagome had never been betrayed before.

She stumbled over a root and a guard prodded her harshly with the back end of what looked like a whip. If she had had the strength she would have grimaced, or at least winced, but she didn't. She couldn't even sigh. It would have been frustrating if she hadn't been so apathetic right now. And as she tread, unseeing and unthinking across the uneven forest ground she failed to notice that her captors had come to a halt. That is, she would have failed to notice if one of them had not rudely jerked her to a stop. Normally she would have rewarded him with a sharp remark, but not today.

Today she waited absolutely still and quiet and submissive as they spoke a few words and then walked between two trees and suddenly found themselves in the middle of a bustling city.

It would have been shocking, if Kagome had been paying attention. Although, probably no more shocking than anything else in this place. A guard loomed in front of her, a wide grin revealing his crooked and filthy teeth. His breath reeked.

In a voice far too cheerful he croaked, "Welcome to Labyrinth City."

And Kagome's heart almost stopped as two words penetrated her haze. Labyrinth City?

_Souta_!

He was here, somewhere in this city, at its heart. Her head came up for the first time in more than an hour and her eyes drifted, searching for the castle she knew would be at the city's center. She was not disappointed. There, rising above the dirty, bustling, streets was a series of towers the color of stone. And somewhere in that castle was the man who could tell her where her brother was – Inuyasha.

"Come along then." They were nudging her again and now that she wasn't numb she found their actions more than a little uncomfortable. She made no remark however, struggling to resume her earlier expression and posture. If she was going to do this she would have to surprise them. It was unlikely they would take her to her brother, or even to Inuyasha, which meant that she would have to escape and find one of them. The only way she could possibly do that would be to surprise the hoard of guards surrounding her.

"This way," another none to gentle prod and she was walking again. After many minutes she was dismayed to find that they weren't headed toward the castle at all, but toward the far end of the huge city. This was very bad – there was no way she could elude them long enough to make it through the entire city to the castle, it had to be at least a two miles.

She wanted to ask them where they were going, to demand to know where she was being taken, but that did not fit the character she was playing. She was being smothered by the weight of the unknown. Where were they going?

Fortunately she did not have to wait long, for a moment later they were intercepted by another guard. This one was more humanoid in shape, though he had a wolf tail, and appeared clean enough. He glanced at her with interest a moment before turning to the captain of the contingent that was holding her.

"You're to take her to the underground dungeon, at the far end of the city." He ordered.

"We know that." The captain snapped. "What'd you come tell us again for?"

The stranger smiled cockily, "just making sure you hadn't forgotten." His tone said what he did not – he thought they were fools. Kagome reflected that he was probably right. Once again his gaze slid toward her and she ducked her head, struggling to maintain a blank look. He watched her a moment before shrugging and turning away.

"Don't get lost!" he called over his shoulder as he took off through the city at amazing speed.

The guards waited until he was out of sight before resuming their slow trudging toward the other end of the city.

"Stupid wolf." Kagome heard the creature nearest her mutter.

Kagome was a little depressed. Now she had no hope of making it to Inuyasha. What was the stupid dog-boy thinking anyway? Hadn't he told her to do this? So why was he making everything so difficult now? She wished she'd never met him and then quickly took it back. Rash wishing was what had got her into this mess in the first place.

The sound of scuffling feet caught her attention.

Up until now Kagome had noticed that all the townspeople avoided the guards, scurrying away to clear the streets well before their arrival in a given area. Those who could not hurry away glared sullenly at the guards, and one old crone had even spat at their feet. In short, the sound of feet shuffling away had already become familiar to her. What was unusual was that these feet seemed to be scuffing _closer_.

Kagome frowned.

There was something familiar about that tread. And for the second time in under an hour her heart skipped a beat. How could she not recognize those even steps? Even now when they were muffled and hurried she knew them. Of course she did, she had just spent the better part of three days traveling with the owner of those feet.

_Miroku?_

What was the monk doing here? Hadn't he betrayed and abandoned her? She had assumed he would have returned to his carefree life of wandering by now. Well, perhaps not carefree, she amended. Even without her around to get him into trouble life in the Labyrinth was far from carefree. Still, maybe Inuyasha had cut him a deal or something: give up the girl and I'll give you a free hall pass, or something like that.

Whatever had happened, Kagome couldn't imagine what Miroku would be doing here. It made no sense. What did he think he was doing?

And Kagome was still wondering that when a shout rang out and a dark figure landed solidly in front of her. A flash of gold, and the jangle of metal on metal followed by blurs of white and the shouts of the guards, and then she was being pulled away by a tight grip on her wrist and someone was panting beside her.

"Hurry! We have to go now. The wards will only hold them off a few minutes –their power is too strong here!"

Kagome struggled to pull away. It made no sense. He had betrayed her, and he'd left her, and it just _hurt_ so much. And she couldn't bear to have him touch her.

"Let go!" she yanked on her wrist but his hold was unrelenting.

"Kagome," there was a desperate pleading in his tone that stopped her short, "Let me help you." And when she looked into his eyes she saw such pain, such regret, that she couldn't look away. "I'm so sorry." He whispered so low she could hardly hear him, but he didn't look away, and she just stared at him. A sudden stomping of feet approaching warned them that his spell had faded.

"We have to run!" he exclaimed, tugging her after him once more. And this time she went willingly.

She probably shouldn't trust him. Still, there was something in his voice and in the way he had looked at her, she couldn't believe that he would betray her again. Maybe she was a fool, but at least she would only be hurting herself if she was wrong. She turned her hand to clasp his. His gaze jerked to hers, startled, but he kept running. She just tightened her hold and gave him a very small smile before looking straight ahead and concentrating on running.

* * *

Her feet hurt, and her lungs hurt, and her sides hurt, and if she didn't stop running soon she was fairly certain that she was going to throw up. But if she did stop she would be in worse shape because the guards were far too close and the moment they stopped they would both be captured.

Kagome risked a glance at the man beside her and wondered for the hundredth time what he was doing here, with her. And for the hundredth time she decided that it really didn't matter and that she had better just think about running.

She had to admit that this was much easier than she had thought it would be, as the street was remarkably devoid of obstacles. Of course, that may have had something to do with the fact that everyone in town took off, possessions in tow, at the sight of them.

What was wrong with these people?

Shouldn't someone be trying to help the guards? They were certainly doing enough shouting. Did this place have citizen's arrests?

Or, if the citizens didn't like Inuyasha or his guards, why didn't they try to stop them? Why didn't anyone attempt to assist Kagome and Miroku in their escape?

It was stupid, an entire city of people who did nothing but mind their own business? What kind of place was this? No busybodies, no do-gooders, no self important show offs, nothing. Just a whole lot of people who got out of the way as fast as they could when they saw trouble coming. Not that she could blame them.

She was panting by now, struggling not to fall over the rough cobblestone of the street. "We can't out run them." She gasped out and Miroku's hand tightened on hers in response.

"We don't have to." His voice was steady and she was absolutely jealous when she glanced over and saw him sweat free and seemingly free of pain as well. Well, physical pain at least. She must be way out of shape.

"What?" she asked dumbly, and then he was pulling her down, ducking beneath a recently abandoned cart and motioning for her to be quiet.

Kagome fought to keep her halting breaths deep, even, and soundless. Her feet were slipping beneath her and Miroku was half holding her up, staring intently at the floor. It took Kagome several moments to figure out that he was watching for the shadows of the guards in the small slit between the base of the cart and the ground. She didn't know why he bothered; they were easy enough to hear.

Her nose began to itch and she widened her eyes in horror – she was going to sneeze! Her hands were occupied with supporting her weary body and she frantically looked around for something to muffle the sound. Her mouth opened and Miroku looked up just in time. A warm, firm hand clapped gently over her mouth and nose just before she lost control. She should have been embarrassed, that was just disgusting, but really now was not the time. It was only by the stupidity of their pursuers that they were safe. After all, intelligent people would have figured out that they must have veered off the main road by now.

Miroku kept his hand loosely over her mouth, most likely as a reminder that they should still be careful, as he listened to the retreating footsteps of the guards. After a minute or so he stood carefully and brought Kagome up with him. Pulling her close he gave her whispered instructions.

"We'll double back toward the castle, taking the back alleys." He breathed into her ear, "we shouldn't have much trouble from these people." And then there was a tug on her hand and they were moving again, thankfully more slowly. He pulled her into an alley and they crept along toward the center of the city.

And it was all going very well, until Kagome heard a very unwelcome sound.

"I see something over here!"

Sure, _now_ someone decided to do their good deed for the day; except Kagome desperately wished they had chosen to do it for her instead of for the enemy!

Miroku's eyes locked with hers and he grimaced.

"Run!"

And so she did.

She ran until she thought that she could run no longer, and then she ran some more. And always the castle loomed before them, still distant, never appearing to be any closer. And Kagome found herself despairing at the thought that it would never be any closer. They would wander this city for the rest of their lives, or until they were captured, which might very well be the same thing. And she hated the Labyrinth, and she hated the guards, and she hated Inuyasha. Except that she couldn't because, really, he was just a victim too. And she found herself wondering what she would do, what she would _be_ after six hundred years of being locked in this place, six hundred years alone with little but the memory of a brother who hated her. It wasn't _fair_! She wanted to be able to hate him, needed to be able to hate _someone_. But the only person she could hate, the only person she could blame, was herself.

The terrible truth was that she had done this all to herself. The fault lay not with Sesshoumaru, who had created this place, not with Inuyasha, who had taken her brother and brought her here, not even with Miroku who might plausibly be named as the reason for her current situation, the fault lay entirely with her. She had made the stupid wish. The whole stupid thing was her own stupid fault and all because she couldn't go see a movie!

If she had had the time she would have berated herself for being a horrible person.

But she didn't. And so she consoled herself with the thought that maybe, just maybe, she could still make things right. Maybe she would reach the castle, maybe she would rescue her brother, maybe she would help Miroku get past whatever haunted him. Maybe she wouldn't make the same mistake twice. Maybe.

They were still running, darting from alley to alley, trying desperately to stay true to their course and not veer from their approach of the center. But it made them so horribly easy to predict, so terribly easy to follow. And the sound of pursuit was distant, but always present. And the townspeople who had been so apathetic and self absorbed moments before seemed suddenly bent against them.

Kagome wanted to scream, wanted to cry, wanted to stop and tell life to behave itself for once. But she knew it wouldn't and so she didn't bother trying. All she could do was run, following the firm grip and tug on her arm as Miroku ran with sure steps nearer and nearer the heart of the city. And she wondered, somewhere deep inside her mind where she wasn't occupied with running and panic and guilt, how he seemed to know exactly where he was going even though he had told her he had never been this far inside the Labyrinth.

And then she had no time to wonder as something shot out in front of them and she nearly screamed.

And Miroku was stumbling, coming to a reluctant halt. And everything inside of her screamed that they should keep moving, keep running, the castle finally loomed large before them, and they were _so close_ – too close to let themselves be stopped now. But it was too late.

* * *

A/N: I thought about leaving Miroku away for a whole chapter, but it slowed the story down too much... anyway, the next chapter will explain all of Miroku's issues, and why he did what he did. Yes, Inuyasha sent the guards. When Miroku left at the mimano party he spoke with some of Inuyasha's men. They struck a deal with him... Why did IY do it? Well, he told you. He thought it was a good idea and he was probably a little jealous too - Kag was spending may too much time with Miroku. But, as usual, IY didn't think it through and now Kagome may be in even more trouble than before! Sorry this is a day late, but I wasn't home yesterday until late and then I had to spray paint a picture frame ... I'm weird, I know...

reenas-as


	11. It is My Reminder

Chapter 10: It Is My Reminder

"Quick, in here." Kagome's head jerked toward the familiar voice only to see an auburn mop of hair duck into a hole in the alley side of a wall.

"Shippo?" she should have been mad, really mad, but she couldn't seem to manage it. Instead she ducked in after him, pulling Miroku with her.

They found themselves inside a small and very dank room, dimly illuminated by several poorly boarded holes in the outside walls. It looked to be some sort of storage shed, and, Kagome realized with a sneeze, it was quite dusty.

Sitting in the far corner (which wasn't far at all, six feet at most) was Shippo.

Propping her hands on her hips as best she could in the crowded room Kagome shot him a mock glare, "That's twice now."

"Uh," Miroku interjected eloquently from behind her, "as entertaining as this conversation is bound to be, I believe it would be in our best interest to hold it further from the street." It was only when Kagome darted a look over her shoulder at him that she realized he was indeed still half in the alley.

"Sorry," she scooted in and over, sliding down against the wall so that he could squeeze into the small room. He slid down beside her and stared at his hands.

Kagome chose to ignore him for the moment and focus on the kitsune. "Start talking."

"Kagome!" Shippo's tone had a faint whining quality, though it was clear from his expression that he was trying to sound grown up, "I didn't run off on you. I knew they would bring you here and that I'd have a better chance of saving you here," he darted a quick look at her. Her expression clearly said that she wasn't buying it and he grimaced, all maturity leaving him as he flung himself at her and buried his face in her shirt, "I'm just a kid, and that guard tossed me right off you, and I couldn't do anything anyway!"

And that was perfectly true. And, really, how could Kagome blame him? So she didn't. Gently she brought a hand up to pat his head and stroke his hair.

"It's okay, Shippo" she assured him soothingly.

The young kit pulled his face, now a bit tear stained, up to look at her, "Really?" he looked so hopeful that she smiled.

"Really."

"Yay!" he bounced up with a smile, already putting the past in its place. "I won't leave again Kagome. I promise!" Kagome grinned before a glimpse of Miroku sobered her. His face was positively downcast, and he almost looked frightened. Slowly she leaned toward him and placed a hand on his arm.

"We're okay too." She said softly.

Violet eyes shot to hers a look of hope glimmering before fading into empty despair again as the monk shook his head, adjusting his staff across his lap. "No, Kagome. I don't deserve your forgiveness."

"I didn't say you did." He looked startled and she smiled, "although I might argue that rescuing me back there pretty much makes up for earlier. Anyway, whether you deserve it or not, you're forgiven."

For a while Miroku just stared at her as though she were speaking some other language, and then his shoulders straightened just a bit and he leaned back against the wall. "Well, if you want to be generous, who am I to stop you?" he smiled, a pale impression of his usual grin, but a real smile none-the-less. Kagome felt herself relaxing as well. She didn't like unsettled business, and she hadn't realized just how much the strain on her friendship with Miroku had been bothering her until now. Now, with it all out in the open her day suddenly seemed much brighter. Of course, that didn't mean she had any idea what to do know – or even what to talk about. It seemed no one really knew what would be appropriate, so they all sat silently listening to the scattered sounds of steps in the surrounding city. The quiet stretched on and Kagome, while not exactly uncomfortable, was not enjoying it.

She was beginning to wonder how much longer they would have to stay in the cramped shed, sitting in silence, when a thought occurred to her.

"Miroku, I thought you said you had never been this deep into the Labyrinth." Kagome pointed out.

He shook his head, "I said I had never been that deep into the forest. I've been in the city before," she opened her mouth to protest, but he held up a hand effectively halting her, "I passed through the gate." His expression darkened, "But my memories of this place are not pleasant."

"But…"

The monk sighed wearily, passing a hand over tired eyes, "Perhaps I should start at the beginning."

Kagome saw the slump of his shoulders and the ache in his eyes and realized with a pang that she had once again stumbled into _that_ territory – the place he didn't want anyone to go. :_Way to go Kags:_ she scolded herself ""_tell him he's forgiven and then rip right into his painful past, way to show how much you care:_ Except, that she did care, and she didn't want to make him relive whatever it was he was hiding, but maybe it would help.

"Miroku," she glanced at Shippo, who didn't seem to be paying much attention. Odd, because she would have thought he would be curious and nosy, but he was a bright enough kid that he probably knew when it was wisest not to intrude. Still, he did have ears and there was no reason everyone should know the monk's private business, "you don't have to-"

He interrupted her with a raised hand and looked up at her with gentle, sad eyes, "It's alright." He gave a humorless laugh, "It might be therapeutic to talk about it." He didn't look as though he believed that, but if he wanted to talk Kagome wouldn't stop him.

"I told you that I was born here, and that my mother died when I was very young leaving me to be raised by a drunken monk." Kagome nodded as he looked to her for confirmation and he settled back, staring at his hands. "I stayed with him until I was seventeen, learning to control my powers and to survive the Labyrinth. Mushin, the old monk, lived on the outskirts of the dark forest and I learned to enjoy life there. But when I was seventeen Mushin told me that I had learned all that he could teach me and though he would have gladly kept me with him I chose to go my own way.

"For six years I lived my life as I pleased, wandering through the Labyrinth aimlessly, helping those I happened across and enjoying the few pleasures the Labyrinth holds. I chose to spend most of my time in the open fields, where dangers where fewer and easier to spot. It was during this time I met most of the humans I mentioned to you. I met a young girl, Koharu, whom I rescued from a demon. The girl had no spiritual powers, and I have no idea how she came to be in the Labyrinth. She followed me for several weeks, and was truly fond of me, but my lifestyle was not suitable for a young woman and so I left her with an old priestess I met within my first year on my own. Her name was Kaede and she gladly took the girl under her wing.

"And then, when I was twenty three, I met Sango." Miroku's eyes shone with pain and joy, and Kagome thought they warred with one another, but before she could determine which emotion had won out he had closed his eyes, the rings on his staff jingling as his fist tightened around it, drawing it closer to him. His voice, when he spoke again was harsh, raw around the edges, as though it had been scrubbed with sandpaper. He swallowed convulsively and Kagome almost touched his arm, almost told him to stop, not to relive the memories, but then he was speaking again, a torrent of words as though a dam had burst and she knew they could not be stopped.

"Sango was the strongest, most amazing woman I have ever known," and it did not escape Kagome's notice that he spoke of her in the past tense.

_Oh,_ she though with aching heart, _oh, Miroku…_

But he was still speaking and Kagome fond herself caught in the rushing current, lost in his bittersweet memories.

* * *

_Miroku wandered, silent and alone, through the outskirts of the dark forest. He had no real purpose here, though in the back of his mind whenever he entered the forest he always wondered if he would find the old monk who had raised him. He had yet to do so, and it had been many years since he had sensed the old man's aura. He was probably dead, the old drunk. _

_Absently Miroku thought that he would not mind an encounter with the mimano, but they usually kept to the deeper parts of the forest at this time of year, and he had no desire to venture so far into the cursed woods. It was too bad really because he was very, very bored. He hadn't had to fight a demon in ages, and he wasn't about to test one of the Labyrinth's traps. He had a very keen sense of self preservation after all._

_And then Miroku had stepped through the trees into a small clearing he didn't remember and all feelings of boredom were lost in an instant. There, in the clearing were one of Miroku's favorite things, and one of his least favorite. In the clearing stood a young woman, perhaps three years younger than himself. She was dressed in a tight black and pink suit and moved with athletic grace, her long hair being blown back by a wind he could not feel. This was Miroku's dearest dream, his favorite pastime – a beautiful woman. His pulse quickened in excitement. And following quickly after that came a sinking feeling of dread as he realized that the breeze he could not feel was caused by the force of her enormous boomerang-like weapon cutting through the air around her, and it was being thrown at a demon._

_The woman caught the weapon, the force pushing her back just a bit, and in her moment of distraction the enormous fire-cat she was faced off against circled around behind and lunged –_

_Miroku felt himself moving without thought, propelled through the space that separated them and into that place between the woman and the demon. His wards were in his right hand even as his left raised his staff to protect himself from attack. He began to mutter the spell which would activate the wards when he was suddenly knocked flat to the ground from behind._

"_What are you doing?"_

_Miroku turned to stare in bewilderment at the woman towering over him. What had just happened?_

"_Are you crazy?" she snatched an ofuda from his limp grasp and waved it in front of his face, "you can't use these! You'll hurt her!"_

_Miroku blinked in confusion. Somewhere he had missed something, but he wasn't exactly certain where or what._

"_I'm sorry?" he asked weakly._

_She leveled him with a look, as if to ask if he were daft, and then slowly raised the ward. "This," she pointed at it, "is a demon ward. It hurts demons." She spoke slowly as if trying to explain something to a very small child._

_Miroku nodded before catching himself and looking away sheepishly. How childish was that?_

_She rolled her eyes at him. "So," she continued, "don't throw it at my friend!" she tossed the offending object into his lap._

_Miroku's gaze jerked back to her. "Your friend?" he asked incredulously, "your _friend _was going to attack you!"_

_She shook her head, "we were only training." She propped a hand on her hip and tilted her head as she glared down at him, "and thanks for interrupting by the way." And then she stepped over him, walking away toward her 'friend' the fire cat demon. He watched in amazement as the huge creature morphed into a tiny two-tailed cat and rubbed affectionately against the woman's legs. Belatedly he scrambled up to follow after her._

"_Well, it _looked _as though you were in danger." He defended._

_She had knelt to rub the demon behind its ears and now looked up at him, "Well, I wasn't, as you can see."_

"_I see that _now_." He agreed, "But, you have to admit, walking in in the middle like that it didn't look like that."_

_She paused, considering him for long moments before nodding and standing slowly, "I suppose you're right. And so, thank you, I guess, for your concern – misplaced though it was."_

_Now that she wasn't snapping at him he found it quite easy to admire her once again, and, as he was wont to do, he rapidly felt himself becoming more at ease. He approached her with a winning smile._

"_I think I should at least know your name, since I so rudely intruded upon your training."_

_She eyed him a little warily now that he was so close to her, but then shrugged and offered a brief bow, "Sango." She informed him, "my name is Sango, and this is Kirara." She held out a hand and the demon cat jumped up into her arms._

"_I am Miroku, a wandering monk." He offered, "may I ask you something?"_

_Sango looked at him with genuine curiosity and he discreetly looked over her lithe form._

"_I guess so." She acquiesced._

_He grinned, and she seemed to shy back, as though uncertain what she had gotten herself into. A moment later Miroku was pressed up against her, the small fire cat rudely discarded as he grabbed her hands and trapped them between his own._

"_Would you bear my child?"_

_Even the resounding slap she gave him had not been enough to deter him. Miroku had known from that moment that he would not let her escape. This woman was special, he needed her and he was willing to spend the rest of his life convincing her that she needed him, if it was necessary.

* * *

_

Miroku's eyes were open again, but he refused to look up from the dirt floor. He was massaging his bound hand slowly.

"Sango and I traveled together for less than a year, but those were the most wonderful months of my life. For the first time I felt truly happy, no matter the circumstances. Sango had a difficult time adjusting at first, but in the end she was as happy to be with me as I was to be with her."

"You loved her." Kagome observed quietly.

For the briefest moment he closed his eyes as though fighting back a wave of pain, "Yes," he admitted, "but we were not lovers. I never told her how much she meant to me. I was a fool." Kagome slid her hand over his and his movement stilled. He looked up, staring ahead at the wall, but his fingers closed around hers.

Kagome was afraid to ask the next question, but she knew that it held the answer to the man before her, "What happened to her?"

He flinched, but did not look down again.

"We were walking through the walled maze, hunting for an herb Sango used to patch wounds. We stumbled across the gate to the city and Sango," he swallowed, "Sango wanted to explore it. She had never seen it before. The gate can be tricky like that." Kagome nodded in understanding, recalling her own experience with the gate, "I had never seen it before either, but I had heard stories, so I was wary. But we approached cautiously and everything _seemed_ alright." His voice broke and he cleared his throat, shifting so that he was pressed closer to Kagome, she did not push him away, offering what comfort she could.

"We decided that it would be safe to pass through. Sango had always wanted to see the city, and the gate was so much easier than the path through the forest. At least, that is what we thought. We passed through the gate with no trouble, but once on the other side we were confronted by a troll who told us we must pay the toll for passage." His hand tightened on hers until his grip was painful, but she did not complain. He looked away as he continued, "the price was one of us." He managed to choke out, and Kagome barely restrained a gasp. He stared at her bleakly, "in the blink of an eye Sango was gone, disappeared, and the troll just laughed when I called out for her and told me there was nothing for me to do. And then he left, and when I turned back the gate was gone so I wandered the streets of the city, dazed and alone until I finally ran into it again and it took me back out into the wilderness surrounding the city."

He gave a sardonic mockery of a laugh, "it exacted no price for _that_ trip."

Kagome reached an arm around him, to hug him, but after only a brief moment he shrugged her away.

"I wandered for another three years, thinking that she was dead. Over time I pushed thoughts of her to the back of my mind, forcing myself to forget her and move on, almost convincing myself that I had not loved her. And then I met you." He raised a hand to brush back her hair softly, "You are so much like her, and yet you aren't like her at all. But your spirit… your spirit is the same. And while I found myself truly happy in your company for the first time in a very long time, there were moments that it was so painful."

He paused, drawing in a shuddering breath, "And then, that night at the camp on the mimano, I met someone who changed everything. A demon came to the outskirts of the camp, and when I sensed him I snuck off hoping to dispatch him. But I did not get the chance because the demon told me something that shook the very foundations of my world." He grasped her chin lightly, meeting her gaze directly, "he told me that Sango was alive, that she was in the service of the goblin king who dwelt at the center of the Labyrinth." He shook his head, "I had never put much stock in stories of the goblin king, but then I remembered the things you had said, about making _him_ free you, and it was suddenly so easy to believe – so much easier than accepting the fact that she was gone forever. And he told me that all I had to do to get her back…" he grimaced then, and Kagome knew what he would say before he said it, "all I had to do was betray you."

Though she had known it was coming, Kagome felt the air rush from her lungs with startling force and she swayed just a little. He hadn't looked away.

"He promised me that once you were safely in the castle he would return Sango to me."

And weight of this statement, the revelation he had just made, stunned Kagome so much that it physically hurt her. He only got Sango back once Inuyasha had _her_. Inuyasha did not have her and so Sango… She remembered how depressed he had been all that day; she remembered now what she had not before, the way his countenance had suddenly altered when they seized her, his desperate cry as they hauled her away, his foolhardy attempt to reach her- to fight his way through the crowd. She stared at him with wide eyes, sparkling with unshed tears. She hurt for him and it was so much worse than when she had hurt for herself.

"Why did you come back for me?" she whispered brokenly.

His gaze gentled as he tenderly reached to wipe away a tear that had not yet fallen, "If I were willing to betray you, I don't deserve her." He whispered. "Kagome, I swear to protect you from this moment, no matter the cost."

* * *

Kagome was at a loss, and Miroku withdrew, allowing her to process all that had just been revealed to her. Though he still seemed sad, she thought he also seemed a little lighted, as though he had been freed of a great burden. Shippo had wisely chosen to curl up in the far corner and amuse himself with his tricks and toys, and Kagome was left to her own thoughts.

The monk beside her was cradling his bound hand once again, and Kagome found her gaze inexorably drawn to it. He had already told her so much, revealed so much of himself to her. Could she ask this one other thing of him?

"What happened to your hand, Miroku?" Her voice was soft, quiet in the dim room, and his grip tightened reflexively. His gaze swirled darkly once more, but he raised his hand slightly toward her.

"This, is a reminder." He spoke solemnly, uncoiling the beads from his forearm and pulling away the bindings as he spoke. "This is so that I never forget." And then his hand was free, turned toward her, palm outstretched. And in the very center of the otherwise flawless appendage she could see the floor. Her mind recoiled because, though it was not bloody or torn or horribly unsightly, it was just so terribly _wrong_. In his hand there was a hole, small, as though a nail had pierced the tender flesh. Kagome winced at the thought and Miroku let out a sigh that might have been the smallest of humorless laughs, and she ached for him. He had known so much pain.

"We were attacked." Kagome was drawn back to him when he spoke. He sounded so… detached, though perhaps that was the only way he could deal with the pain, and she didn't need to ask who had been with him – who made him a "we". It was Sango.

"We had been staying with the old priestess and Koharu. It was so peaceful there, so safe. With the combined holy powers of myself and Kaede, and the presence of Sango – a well known demon slayer by then – there was nothing to fear." He drew in a breath, "or so I thought. I became careless. We had wandered away, to spend the day alone. I found an excuse to send Kirara away and the afternoon was perfect. And then we were attacked. In a single moment everything changed. I don't know where it came from, but it was upon us before I could sense it. And Sango was lying there, on the ground, unconscious. And I was so _scared_, so angry I could not even move." He pulled his hand up to his face and smiled grimly.

"The demon was a shape shifter, and it molded its body into spear-like protrusions which shot out with alarming speed. I watched it as though time had slowed, and I could see each limb melt and reform. One of them shot toward Sango and I threw out my hand to protect her. I didn't even feel any pain as it pierced through my hand and out the far side. But something within me flared to life and my holy powers surged along that distorted limb like fire. It never got near her; the whole creature just disintegrated into ash before my eyes. It wasn't until I had carried Sango back to Kaede's that I knew I had been injured. Koharu was panicked, she kept fluttering around me, insisting that she be allowed to treat my injury. So I let her…"

His gaze was fixed on his hand, but Kagome had a feeling that he wasn't seeing it, he was seeing the past. Slowly she slid her hand to cover the hole and clasped his palm to hers.

"Couldn't you have healed it with your powers?" her voice was small, but somehow he found it comforting.

"Probably, and certainly Kaede could have."

"Why didn't you let her?"

Miroku shook his head, "It is my reminder," he repeated his earlier answer, "I kept it to keep myself form growing complacent, overconfident. I kept it to keep me – and those I cared for – alive."

And that was the answer to his odd and paradoxical behavior. Miroku had lived here long enough to know that one had to find his own enjoyment in life, but he had learned the hard way to be wary.

He was watching her; she felt his eyes on the crown of her head and realized that she had dropped her face to stare at the floor. After a moment she dragged her gaze back up to meet his. She could see her thoughts reflected in his eyes. Yes, he had learned the hard way. And even though he had learned to be wary, the Labyrinth had still managed to steal from him the most precious thing in his life. He could not control anything and he could save so little. She wondered that he even bothered trying anymore. But though there was despair in his eyes there was also contentment. Miroku knew his place in life, and as long as he could do some good he would go on trying. Miroku would fight the Labyrinth to the day of his death. He was _so strong_. Kagome was so very blessed to have him with her. She smiled weakly and he squeezed her hand, a look of resolve stealing over his features.

"Well," he stood as best he could, tugging her to her feet, "we aren't getting anywhere by sitting here. Let's go rescue your brother, Kagome."

* * *

A/N: Lots of things explained there. Aren't you happy? We're winding down and more answers will be coming every chapter. Thanks that so many of you are reviewing now. And remember - each review counts See you next weekend.

reenas-as


	12. Welcome to My Illusion

Chapter 11: Welcome to My Illusion

They slipped quietly out into the alley, Miroku cautiously leading the way. It had been some time since they had last heard their pursuers, but he was not taking any chances. They were both far too noticeable, he in his holy robes and she in her foreign clothing. Shippo followed behind them, looking more alert than any child should have to be. Miroku grasped Kagome's hand and guided her behind him as he darted from alley to alley hoping to avoid detection as long as possible. He knew it would be impossible to escape notice once they had reached the inner city. He could only hope they would make it close enough to the castle that Kagome could escape in the ensuing commotion of their discovery.

He was still praying for this up to the moment when he detected the faint swell of youki behind him

He cursed violently in the dark solitude of his mind and began running in earnest. Beside him Kagome stumbled in surprise, but managed to maintain her footing and follow him. She wanted to ask him why, he knew she must, but she wisely refrained. Miroku sensed Shippo tense behind him and knew that the kit understood. Now Miroku felt the demonic energy pulse around him and he knew that the demon was close enough that he would have been able to hear its footfall had it been human. But had it been human there would not have been this growing feeling of dread within him.

The demon was too young, too strong, to be one of the guards. It was undoubtedly the wolf demon from before. And this was the worst possible turn. Not only was he fast and strong, but his sense of smell would be incredibly keen. Even keeping to the shadows they would easily be found. Miroku firmly shoved aside all anger and fear and steeled himself determinedly. He _would_ ensure that Kagome made it to the castle, no matter the cost to himself.

He turned sharply, a tug on Kagome's hand her only warning, paused a moment to gain his bearings and took off once again straight toward the castle. This time he paid no heed to stealth, plowing straight through hapless citizens as he took the shortest path toward their goal. It was pointless now, they had already been discovered.

When they had reached a ramshackle sort of village square, complete with broken fountain, he skidded to a halt, whipping around to face the street from which they had come and jerking Kagome behind him. The castle loomed high above them, not more than a hundred yards away past the inmost row of yellowed stone houses.

Kagome staggered to a stop and turned to look at him in confusion. "What are you doing?"

"Shippo, take Kagome to the castle!" he called, eyes trained on the narrow opening between buildings.

"What?" Kagome's shocked yell was nearly drowned out by the kit's own indignant response.

"I'm not going." He said stubbornly.

Miroku refused to be responsible for Shippos's safety, but he recognized the set of the fox child's jaw and shoulders. He was determined, he would not be moved. Frantically the monk cast about his mind for something that would convince the child to go. He knew Kagome would stay here until this was decided, and there was so little time. He cast a harried glance at Shippo.

"Kagome needs someone to lead her to the castle!"

The kit snorted, crossing his small arms. "A blind man could find his way at this distance. Besides," he eyed Miroku sagely, "you need me."

Miroku opened his mouth, intending to protest when he realized that both statements were completely true. He knew he could not hold the demons at bay for long, and Shippo's magic of illusion could be very helpful. He looked to Kagome, who seemed torn, and smiled in what he hoped would pass for reassurance.

"Go Kagome." He urged quietly, and she blanched. He shook his head to ward off the protest he knew was coming, "for Souta." He reminded her gently. Her eyes widened and they shimmered with unshed tears, but she gave a terse nod and turned. A moment later she had shot off down the street, rapidly approaching her objective. Miroku admired her athletic grace with a curious detachment as he and the fox demon shifted into fighting stances and waited for the demon to appear before them. The last thing Kagome heard before she was out of earshot was the monk's yell.

"Shippo, now!"

And the kit's reply, "Foxfire!" And then she was standing at the gate to the castle, and her heart was pounding so hard that she couldn't breath.

* * *

Kagome suddenly found herself considering that this might have been a very stupid idea.

There was really a very logical reason for this thought to occur to her just now, that reason being that now that she faced the gate to the castle she had not the slightest idea how to go about getting it open so that she could get in.

Really, this was not one of her better plans.

Not that she had ever had to plan for things like this before…

The gate loomed, huge and forbidding, several stories above her. It was not wood like the castle drawbridges in fairytale movies or quaint English castles, it was solid steel. And there was no moat, but that really didn't seem to matter because as near as she could tell the castle had no windows and unless she could discover a way to melt the iron gate by the mere heat of her fury she was not getting in that castle. Maybe she could develop laser vision like Superman?

Not likely.

And now there was the very real, very heavy, weight of true and utter hopeless depression falling on her chest and she had to fight the nearly overwhelming desire to give in to the shaking of her knees and just sink to the ground in despair.

She was never going to see her home again.

She reflected, for only a moment, that life was turning out to be decidedly unfair. Ironic, considering that that same thought was what had started this whole mess. But there was a world of difference between having to forgo a night at the movies to watch her brother and having to wander around a deathtrap in search of said brother.

It didn't help that it had probably been her own fault.

She hoped that if she ever got home she would have the sense to be more mature for at least a few months. It didn't seem too likely though, considering her track record so far.

Kagome didn't know whether she should try examining the rest of the castle, or risk knocking on the immense door, but she did know that she couldn't just continue to stand, gaping at this admittedly prominent obstacle.

Fortunately, as it turned out, she didn't have to make a decision. A moment later the door began to creak open.

At first, the movement was so small Kagome thought she was imagining it, but the squeal and creak of disused metal scraping against metal was real enough to make her clasp her ears in pain. It occurred to her that a door that large would be very heavy and the persons opening it would have to fight with inertia to get it moving. It surprised her, therefore, to discover that the persons were actually only a single person and that that person was a woman only a little older than herself.

She had dark hair, and lifeless eyes and Kagome almost shuddered at the aura that seemed to reach out and surround her. Kagome didn't watch many horror movies, but Souta was known to indulge, and she couldn't help comparing this woman to the zombies which so often frequented such tales. She had the air of the living dead.

That thought caused Kagome to shudder in earnest and she wrapped her arms around her torso.

The woman took no offense – not that she _should,_ if her eyes were any indication she felt nothing at all. She stepped back and indicated that Kagome should follow her, though she spoke no words.

Kagome was feeling decidedly uneasy, but it didn't seem as though she had any other choice. She followed hesitantly behind.

The castle was as cold and foreboding on the inside as on the outside, but here there was no sun to turn it a less harsh tan. Kagome had expected statues of gargoyles and suits of armor, but the vast hallway stretched before them completely devoid of decoration. The air felt stale, as if the castle had not been lived in for a very long time.

Kagome followed the woman, obviously a servant, past several doors but the woman never paused, never varied her pace, she simply continued down the corridor so soundlessly she might well have been a ghost.

"Umm, excuse me, where are we going?" Kagome hated the way her voice wavered.

The woman turned and looked at her, though since her eyes were glazed over a solid brown and there was no visible pupil it gave the impression that she was staring either through Kagome, or at something between the two of them. Then she turned wordlessly back around and resumed walking.

At this point Kagome began to wonder if the woman was somehow being controlled. Even servants talked, right? At least, they did when asked a direct question. Not that Kagome had much experience with servants – truth was she had none at all – but common sense seemed to dictate that it was rude not to answer a question. And servants weren't supposed to be rude.

However, Kagome doubted that pointing this out to the woman would be of much use. This being the case and the scenery being so dull, Kagome really had nothing to do but study the woman before her. She was dressed in simple clothing, a pink and white kimono and a green wrap skirt. Her long black hair was caught in a low and loose ponytail. Though her movements were somewhat automated and stiff there was still an athletic ease to her strides which indicated she had been active for most of her life. Kagome caught a glimpse of black beneath her kimono sleeve as her arm moved to brush away a cobweb and her breath caught in her throat.

She wasn't certain how she knew; there could be dozens, hundreds, of women who met the same description. Except that this was the Labyrinth, and there weren't hundreds or even dozens of human women here, there were only a handful. And what were the odds that two such women were being held by the Goblin King?

She knew the answer.

Squelching her discomfort she moved closer to the woman leading her, wondering how she could get through to her. Right now she was almost an automaton; nothing Kagome said seemed to spark any sort of reaction in her. Her eyes were soulless, and Kagome wasn't certain there was a way to change that.

"Umm… have you been here long?" she asked weakly. The woman before her didn't even slow her steps. Kagome bit her lip, clasping her hands behind her back so that she wouldn't pick at her sleeves, and tried again. "How old are you?" There was still no answer. The woman before her might as well have not had ears for all the attention she paid Kagome. "Read any good books lately?" now that was a silly question. Did they even _have_ books in the Labyrinth? But Kagome was feeling rather desperate now. "Please talk to me!" she begged.

It was useless, the woman just kept walking purposefully down that dank hall. Kagome was getting a very disturbing sinking feeling of inevitability. Whoever this woman once was, she was clearly nothing but a lifeless shell now. She thought of violet eyes darkened with sorrow and winced. It hurt just to think it, but it was true. Kagome let her chin fall to her chest, her bangs shadowing her eyes. "Please, Sango. Miroku needs you." She whispered.

* * *

"Miroku?"

The moment the plea had left Kagome's lips she had been forced to come to a stumbling stop as she collided with the now still form of the woman before her. She started at the voice, so soft and sorrowful, and jerked her head up.

Sango was staring at her. Her eyes were no longer blank, instead they were dark pools that swirled with an anguished despair. Kagome wanted to cry. The woman reached a hand toward her, but stopped short of actually touching her.

"How do you know Miroku?"

Kagome swallowed. She hadn't expected the woman to even hear her. And now, she didn't know what to say. She opened her mouth unsuccessfully several times before she finally managed to arrange her thoughts.

"I've been traveling with him. He told me about you." If she had expected this to make Sango feel better she was sadly mistaken. To her surprise Sango appeared to be blinking back tears.

"Does he hate me?" she whispered brokenly, looking away, "He must hate me."

Kagome just blinked at her in shock. _Hate her?_ Miroku _loved_ her. More than anything in any world. Miroku had been dying slowly without her and she thought he _hated_ her? But Miroku seemed to think that she should hate _him_ now.

"You don't have to tell me, I don't want to know." She was turning away.

It was only then that Kagome realized Sango had wanted an answer. Kicking her brain into gear she laid a hand quickly on the other woman's arm to deter her. Sango looked up in mild surprise, but then resumed her dejected look. "No, no!" Kagome hastened to assure her, clutching the pink and white sleeve, "he doesn't hate you. He loves you."

Sango shook her head, "he used to love me, I think…"

"He still does!" Kagome protested.

Sango was staring at the floor, "No. I abandoned him."

Kagome frowned. Abandoned? That didn't fit in with the story she had heard at all.

"Did he tell you?" Sango was looking into her eyes, desperate, pleading, "Did he tell you what I did? It was I who wanted to enter the gate. It was I who was too weak. Why would he ever want a stupid, weak, woman like me?" a single tear slipped down her cheek and Kagome did the only thing she could think to do. She pulled the older girl into a comforting hug. Surprisingly Sango went willingly. She wasn't crying, but she was shaking.

"Sango," Kagome said soothingly, "that wasn't your fault. It wasn't anyone's fault. You checked, it seemed safe."

"But-"

"You know, Miroku blames himself for that." Kagome interrupted.

Sango pulled away so quickly her hair flew over her shoulder. "Himself? But it was me!" she protested.

Kagome shook her head with a small smile, "It was this stupid Labyrinth," she corrected, "trust me, I've only been here a few days and I can already tell."

Sango did not look entirely convinced, but she didn't look so desperately sad anymore either.

"Does it really matter?" Kagome pressed, "He still loves you. I know - I could see it when he talked about you. And I think you still love him."

Sango nodded.

Kagome reached to grasp her hand. "He needs you, Sango."

"But I…"

"And you need him." She finished firmly.

Sango stood a moment, watching her intently. And then her face slowly transformed, a look of determination overtaking the pain. "I've been such a fool." She shook her head to ward off Kagome's protests. "It's true. I've been staying here, feeling miserable when all along all I had to do was go find him."

Kagome's brow furrowed in confusion, "You can leave? But I thought no one could leave the castle."

"Prisoners can't leave the castle. But I am only a servant. The spell which possessed me can be broken through will." She grasped Kagome's other hand, "and you've given me the will that I need to leave this behind. Thank you."

Kagome nodded slowly, a little stunned. That had been much easier than she had anticipated.

"Where is he?"

Kagome drew back, startled. She had forgotten about Miroku's current danger. She sucked in a breath. "Oh Sango, you have to hurry. Miroku is in trouble!"

"What do you mean?"

"Miroku-there were demons chasing us, trying to stop me from reaching the castle, and Miroku and Shippo stayed behind to hold them off while I got away." She was practically wringing her hands, "one of the demons was so strong, I think he must be in trouble!"

And with those words Sango transformed from anxious and uncertain to the strong and determined woman she must have been when Miroku first knew her. Her jaw was set in determination, her shoulders lifted, and her eyes took on a steely gleam. This was the taijya, the demon slayer, who had lived her life in the heat of battle.

"Kilala should still be here somewhere." She said thoughtfully. And then she made a strange sort of whistling sound, only far more piercing than any Kagome had ever heard, using her hands and her lips and a moment later a huge cat with saber fangs and two tails was racing toward them. Kagome's eyes went wide as she feared it would bowl them right over, but the creature stopped just as it reached Sango and lowered its head to rub against her hand affectionately. Sango rubbed between its ears and smiled.

"We have to go Kilala." With athletic grace she swung up onto the cat and leaned over its ear, "Do you know where hiraikotsu is?" the cat growled an affirmative and Sango pet its neck. "Good, let's go old friend." Then she hesitated a moment to look back at Kagome, "Your brother, he's here in the castle. You'll find Inuyasha in the room at the end of this hall. I wish you luck."

Kagome smiled, "And I wish you luck, and happiness!" she added the last as the demon slayer and her faithful companion flew toward the door. She wished them all luck; they were going to need it.

* * *

Kagome approached the end of the corridor rather timidly considering how unhappy she was with Inuyasha. However, now that her heated anger had passed she remembered in vivid detail how sharp his fangs looked, and how long his claws were. She paused just outside the doorway and drew in a rather shaky breath. Scolding herself she took another and was pleased to find it far steadier. Bracing herself she lifted her chin and strode into the room hoping she looked more confident than she felt. Inuyasha was lying on his side across his stone throne, his head propped lazily on one hand, resting on his elbow as he stared into the crystal ball a few feet in front of him. His other hand dangled limply off the front of the throne and his far knee was pulled up. Kagome thought that he looked rather more indolent than he should. He also looked bored, and that made her angry. What right did he have to be bored when her life was going to pieces and it was at least partly his fault!

"So," he hadn't even looked up at her and she started, wondering for a moment how he knew she was in the room before she remembering his sensitive ears. His sense of smell was probably very keen as well. "You come in here and take my favorite servant?"

Kagome bristled.

"That's all you can say?" she snapped.

"Keh." He snorted and finally looked at her, though he didn't bother to move otherwise, "Should I say something else?"

Kagome's anger had hot wired her brain again; she was moving and speaking without thought to the consequences. "Yeah," she stomped toward him, "how about telling me where my brother is you jerk."

Inuyasha's look was utter boredom, "Is _that_ all?" he deliberately turned his head back to the crystal ball, "I think there are other things to worry about right now."

Now that Kagome was closer she could see movement within the ball. Unable to restrain her curiosity she moved closer, peering into it. She saw figures in the ball and after a moment she realized that she was viewing the city. More specifically she was viewing the small courtyard in which she had left Miroku and Shippo.

They weren't doing well.

Kagome's feet moved forward of their own accord as she stared, her hands slowly raised.

Inuyasha made a sharp negative sound that caught her attention, "you can't touch it."

Hastily she withdrew her hands, clasping her sleeves as she watched. The wolf was charging at Miroku, and by now several other guards were there as well. Shippo was trying to hold them off with what looked like an enormous spinning top, but there was only so much his magic could do.

"No!" Kagome cringed away as the wolf demon backed away to gain space and then charged at Miroku head on.

"Don't look away." Inuyasha chided her and she forced herself to watch.

A moment later a figure in black swooped down into the street riding on a white and black cat with flames at its feet. The figure held a huge boomerang type weapon and Kagome realized that it was Sango. The older girl swept past Miroku and threw her weapon at the approaching wolf. He literally flew up into the air and down the street at least a hundred yards before finally slamming into a building. By that time Sango had expertly caught her weapon and hopped off Kilala to stand beside Miroku. Kagome thought they might have exchanged a few words, they certainly stared at one another long enough, and then they both smiled. Within minutes the rest of the guards were running scared.

"It is my only link to the world outside these walls," Kagome was startled to find that Inuyasha was now right behind her, nearly pressed against her back at her right shoulder. His voice was low in her ear, "or at least it was for a very long time."

Kagome forced herself to remain still, though her heart was pounding oddly, "Are the things that it shows true?"

She felt his breath as he exhaled and then inhaled slowly, "Yeah. That's what's happening right now." He affirmed.

Kagome breathed a sigh of relief. "Then they'll be alright."

Inuyasha snorted rudely, "Well, obviously. Sango could kick those guys' butts in her sleep. Especially that idiot, Kouga." He snorted, "Stupid wolf." He muttered.

Kagome didn't doubt it. Relief washed over her as she saw the images in the ball moving once again. Kilala had landed just long enough for Sango, Miroku, and the kit to climb on her back, and then she took off again.

"They won't be able to come back here for you, ya know." Inuyasha told her.

And Kagome suddenly remembered the reason she was here.

"And whose fault is that?" she snapped, whirling to face him. She jabbed her finger toward his chest, "Yours, that's whose. Just like everything else!" Not _entirely_ true. Hadn't she already admitted that this was mostly her fault? And then there was Sesshoumaru… but still, it was true enough. "Where's my brother you jerk! I want him back!"

"Then you'll have to take him." He smiled somewhat sadly and she lunged for him only to find herself passing through thin air. She turned back around to see him facing her, but she could also see the wall on the other side of the room. He was fading away.

"Wait!" she cried when he was almost gone.

The smile widened and somehow managed to look even more melancholy at the same time. And then he was gone and there was only the whisper of his voice left behind.

"Welcome to my illusion."

* * *

A/N: So, if anyone didn't catch it the wolf demon last chapter and this one was Kouga. As for Inuyasha's disappearing act... next chapter will tell Yay Sango and Miroku got together! I know you're all thrilled. Sorry this was late, Friday was opening night for the play I'm in and Saturday I was only home for one hour that I was actually awake... Please review!

reenas-as


	13. A Room Without Shadow

Chapter 12: A Room Without Shadow, A Picture Without Paint

He was gone. Completely, utterly gone, and she was alone in a huge and cold room with only a wide stone throne and a crystal ball on a pedestal to keep her company.

"Now what am I supposed to do?" she grumbled. She stared at the crystal ball, wondering for a moment if it took requests before she shrugged the thought off as childish and turned to examine the room. She was surprised by the calm that had come over her. Usually she would have worked herself into a frenzy by now. And why not? She had no idea where her brother was, or where Inuyasha had gone. She had no way to find either of them. So unless Inuyasha generously decided to come back and enlighten her she was pretty much stuck here.

Still, panic rarely accomplished anything other than a short and painful death, so Kagome was rather grateful for her new found calm.

"So what do I do now?" as if in answer to the question a faint light sprang into existence at the farthest end of the room. Kagome eyed it suspiciously before shrugging and deciding that it didn't really matter if this was a trap because she couldn't just sit here, and she couldn't very well wander the castle for the rest of her life.

"Alright light, you'd better not be anything dangerous." She warned as she approached the beckoning signal. She decided that it would be prudent to take this slowly; there might be traps in the room or something. So she carefully tested each step, all the while feeling a complete fool, but knowing she would feel worse than the fool if she sprung a trap and died before she saved Souta.

"Too bad they never teach _this_ in school." She muttered under her breath, her eyes trained on the floor, but occasionally darting to the wall on either side of her. "They could work it into ancient Egyptian history or something. I mean, I'll never need to know how to embalm a human corpse, but evading booby traps just jumped to the top of my priority list."

Great. Now she was having Indiana Jones flashbacks. Too bad she wasn't Harrison Ford. Of course, if she were Harrison Ford she probably wouldn't be stupid enough to get into these situations.

Plus, she'd have a stunt double.

Kagome's sigh blew out her bangs and when they came to rest against her forehead again one long strand dangled just above her left eye. It itched and she pushed it back in irritation.

At least she wasn't sweating. Talking to herself was bad enough, but smelling like gym socks at the same time would have been utterly unbearable.

Come to think of it, this castle was really rather cool, and she didn't mean in the trendy sense. She was beginning to think that she might need a sweater. Definitely a change from the heat of the city streets.

Kagome's rambling thoughts came to a rough stop as she reached the wall and found the light was gone. She frowned, but she had managed to learn a few things in the Labyrinth. Slowly Kagome stretched out her hand and brushed it against the cool stone wall until she found what she was looking for – a section of wall that had no substance. With a self-satisfied nod she drew in a breath and stepped through the wall.

The room on the other side was dark and immense and then light seemed to kindle from everywhere and nowhere at the same time and she saw the room was ornately decorated in rich colors and shades of gold. There were tapestries on the walls and draping curtains, and flowers on pedestals. It was all so completely out of place in the otherwise spartan castle. Kagome stepped forward, letting her fingers run along the nearest tapestry, lifting it lightly from the wall without really pulling it. As she walked it slid from her hands and came to rest gently against the wall once again. Kagome then reached to brush the nearest flowers, but her eyes did not follow her hands. Her gaze had been drawn to the lone figure in the room.

Silver hair stirred slightly as he looked at her and his golden eyes shone in the light. It was Inuyasha, but his typical feudal style clothing had been replaced with clothing reminiscent of sixteenth century European formal wear. Kagome reached toward him, a question on her lips and he smiled.

There was a moment of confusion and she thought that she was dancing with him, pressed up against him, and he was warm and solid and secure. And then she was twirling alone and he was standing far off, distant and arrogant. And for some reason she felt hurt and betrayed. She slowly spun to a stop, lowering her arms to rest at her sides and staring at him. He met her eyes coldly and her lips moved, forming his name without sound. He turned away and she tried to run to him, but now the room was filled with men in suits and women in elegant gowns and they were pressing around her, keeping her from reaching him. She could hardly see him now. Her own long skirts kept tripping her, and as she reached down to gather them in one hand it occurred to her that she wasn't wearing long skirts – or, rather, she shouldn't have been. But it wasn't important because she _had_ to reach him.

"Inuyasha!" she cried; she had lost sight of him completely and a familiar panic rose in her breast. "Where are you?"

"I'm right here." The voice was calm and quiet and surprisingly near. And then the room was empty except for him standing behind her. She turned to find him no longer in his sophisticated suit, but in his own red hakama and gi. The space around them was thrown into darkness save a faint candle-like glow that extended no more than a foot or two beyond where they stood before the void enveloped the light. The air around her shimmered softly as huge bubbles sunk toward the ground, shrinking in mid air before bursting in showers of glittering sparks. And then the air became still as the last one faded and she realized that it had all been an illusion.

She looked to him in confusion, searching his warm golden eyes for answers she wasn't certain he could give.

He was gazing at her so tenderly, and she was so lost.

"Why are you doing this?" her voice was small, her head hung. His eyes flickered with what might have been hurt, but she couldn't see.

Inuyasha wanted to shake her, wanted to make her understand. "Because I love you." He stated simply, and her gaze shot to his in disbelief. He could understand that look, he supposed. So why couldn't she understand his?

Her brain seemed to have stalled. They stared at one another for interminable seconds before she opened her mouth to ask him to repeat what he had just said, because it couldn't have been what she thought he had said. And then he was fading away again and she didn't even have the presence of mind to stop him. But that was alright because experience had shown her there was little point in that.

For a moment she was shrouded in darkness and then, slowly, the room became illuminated just as before. Once again there seemed to be no source for the infusing light. But that was the only similarity. This time the light was bright as daylight and Kagome had to shut her eyes against it. When she opened her eyes she was greeted by a dramatically altered room.

Before her, all around her, on every wall, were stairways and doorways. They faced every conceivable direction and now Kagome saw the purpose of the light. All things were at once shadowed and without shadow and she fought a wave of vertigo as she was suddenly overwhelmed with the sensation that she was standing on the ceiling rather than the floor. It was impossible to tell just from looking which way was up and which was down, or even side to side. She remembered seeing a picture like that once in a textbook. Only this wasn't a painting; it was as though someone had decided to make a three dimensional model of the artist's vision. She remembered how difficult it was to tell which way the picture was supposed to hang and her teacher telling her that it would be impossible to imitate in reality. It should only work in two dimensions.

Kagome wished her teacher could see this room. Her only relief was that there was probably no way to make the room do what it seemed to. All she had to do was tell herself that she was not upside down. After all, walking on the ceiling would be defying the laws of physics.

A moment later this comforting conclusion was shattered by the appearance of a goblin like creature in a doorway far from her. He was standing normally, but from where she stood he looked as though he were growing sideways out of the wall.

It was then that she remembered that she was in the Labyrinth, and its laws were all its own.

The goblin ducked back into the doorway and then came back out, prodding another figure before it.

It was Souta.

Kagome nearly screamed. It was a perfectly natural reaction considering that the goblin had pushed him right off the edge of the narrow platform. But instead of falling Souta merely ended up on the other side of the room. And now he was upside down.

Kagome clasped a hand over her mouth and forced her heart to steady its pace. She stepped forward and then realized that she had no way to reach Souta, he was about half way up the tall wall. Looking around her she located the nearest door and darted into it.

There was a strange sensation, as though her whole body had blinked, and then she was emerging through another doorway and out into the room once more. Now she was standing parallel to Souta and the Goblin was perpendicular to them. She was closer to Souta than the goblin was, which was a relief.

She reached her hand toward him calling to him. "I'm coming Souta!" He looked at her and gave an odd smile, and then he began to walk away from her.

"No, Souta!" she was moving again, desperate, running down the stairs and into another door.

"Wait!" she shouted as she came into the room once more, now far from him. He ignored her and continued walking.

"I don't see why he should." A smug voice spoke from the floor beneath her and she hurried to the edge so that she could look over. There she saw Inuyasha, his arms crossed insolently, his fangs gleaming as he grinned. She gasped and stumbled back against the wall. He was standing directly beneath her, feet to feet. How was this possible?

Maybe she really was going crazy.

"You'd better go get him."

Kagome hurried back to the edge, dropping to her knees and peering over the edge, but Inuyasha was gone.

Kagome wanted to cry and she wasn't even sure why. Not that she didn't have abundant reason to cry, it was only that she had withheld from tears so long that she was surprised something had finally pushed her over the edge. She wasn't even sure if the tears would be of anger, sadness, or just frustration. What struck her as the most strange was that she missed Inuyasha. That was certainly the most stupid and unwelcome feeling she had had in a long time.

She hardly knew him, and what she did know of him wasn't particularly pleasant. In fact he'd pretty much made her life miserable from the moment she had met him. But she couldn't help feeling that he was just a victim. She hurt for him.

And then there was that softness in his eyes whenever he looked at her, and that strange illusion. She had felt so safe in his arms. And he had said that he loved her.

But how could he love her? He didn't even _know_ her.

And none of it mattered at all because she was here to find Souta not worry about some not-quite-human guy who might or might not have actual feelings for her.

And that wasn't fair.

But, Kagome thought as she willed back the tears and forced herself to her feet determinedly, when had life ever been fair? No one had ever said it would be, in fact they all said that it wouldn't be. So why did every child in existence persist in the vain desire for the world to be fair?

She thought of Shippo who had lost his parents and been forced to live alone so young. She thought of Miroku and Sango who had lived such hard lives and found happiness in each other only to have in senselessly snatched from them. She even thought of Inuyasha, imprisoned here by a cold and uncaring brother who seemed to have some sort of god complex. Life hadn't treated them any better than it had treated her.

And then there was Souta, who had been thrust into this situation because his sister was mad at his mom.

Really, out of them all, Kagome had had the most control over her own fate.

Maybe she was just stupid and horribly selfish.

She was running now, trying to find the right door, the door that would lead to Souta or even Inuyasha, but there seemed to be no logic dictating where the doors led. She was beginning to despair of ever finding Souta. Maybe they would all be trapped her for eternity and their poor mother would be left to wonder if someone had carried off her children in the night. A few days ago Kagome might have thought this served her right, but that would only have been a result of her anger. Now she saw that no one deserved such fear.

Kagome was tired of running. She could see Souta close before her now. She was following in his path, but he never seemed to get any closer. He was always just outside her reach, and she didn't think she could take much more of this. She jerked to a halt, falling to her knees.

"I'm sorry, okay!" she shouted and the sound echoed off stair after stair. She buried her face in her hands, not noticing that the room's three other occupants had stopped moving to stare at her.

"I'm sorry. It's all my fault and I was stupid and selfish. And I'm _sorry_!" her shoulders were shaking with sobs. "Please, I just want this to be over." There was a pleading note in her voice, but even she didn't know whom she was begging. Was she praying? She didn't know.

"I can't do this anymore."

There was a rustle of movement behind her, and strong arms wrapped around her. She saw a flash of red and knew who it was even before he spoke.

Inuyasha knelt behind her, resting his cheek gently on the back of her head, his eyes closed, his hold gentle. His silver hair fell forward, encasing her and she felt so safe. Which didn't make sense at all, because he was supposed to be the enemy, right?

His breath stirred her hair as he spoke softly into it, "All you had to do was stop running."

* * *

And then they were standing in the center of the room, Inuyasha, Souta, and Kagome. The goblin was gone and the stairs were fading, but Inuyasha was still behind her, and he did not seem inclined to let her go. She found herself wanting to lean back into him, but she couldn't. Her sobs eased and she hiccupped lightly a few times before gulping in a breath and finally ceasing her shaking.

For some time she just stood there, wrapped in Inuyasha's arms, not moving, not feeling anything at all. And then she slowly raised her head, though she kept her eyes closed.

"Why?" she whispered.

And Inuyasha knew what she meant without asking. But he didn't know what to answer. The question was too heavy, too full, and the answer too complicated. So he took the easy way out.

"You know why."

And she did. She had been through the why a thousand times and she knew it all too well, but that didn't mean that she wanted it to be true. What she wanted, though she knew it was hopelessly, childishly romantic and impossible, was for Inuyasha to turn her in his arms, cradle her to his chest, and whisper in her ear that everything would be alright. That all that had happened was only a dream. She wanted to close her eyes tightly, tap her heels together three times, whisper enchanted words and open her eyes to find herself at home.

But that was the wrong movie again.

Not that the movie seemed to matter anymore. Her own story had diverged so far from it that she knew even if she were able to remember the ending it wouldn't matter.

Kagome shuddered and forced herself to move from Inuyasha's embrace. He seemed reluctant, but he let her go, his arms falling to his sides once more. He watched as she collected herself, turned, and opened her eyes. She was staring at Souta, but he didn't seem to see her. She lifted a hand in a helpless gesture, but Inuyasha knew it made no difference. He was a prisoner of the Labyrinth, his mind was ensnared.

"It won't do any good." He told her and he could see in her posture that she already knew this.

That didn't make it right though. He clenched his fists and grit his teeth, silently cursing Sesshoumaru and his stupid rules.

He cursed himself as well.

He had been such a fool.

Hadn't he always hated his brother for interfering in his life? Hadn't he thought his brother the lowest and most selfish, arrogant, jerk? Then why had he interfered with someone else's life? With _her_ life? His intentions had been, well they hadn't exactly been good, but he had only been trying to please her. But he had known. He had _known_ that any interaction would only drag her into the mess he'd made of his life. Now he felt selfish and stupid and cruel. He _loved her_. So why had he done something that was bound to hurt her no matter what?

He gave a bitter, self deprecating laugh.

What had made him think _he _could ever make anyone happy?

"Inuyasha?" her voice was low and tense, and his ears flattened at the sound. She was in pain and it was his fault.

"Kagome." He wanted to reach out and draw her to him once more, to erase the grief, to heal her wounds. But that would only make it worse. He destroyed everything he touched.

She looked up at him, fists balled at her sides. "Let us go now. Please."

He cringed and then slowly shook his head.

Kagome stared at him, mouth agape and he wished he could sink into the floor. She took an uneven step closer to him.

"Please, Inuyasha." She whispered.

He looked away. He couldn't bear to watch her as he answered. "I'm sorry."

And then Kagome was in front of him, grasping him firmly by the front of his gi and there was fire in her eyes, that same fire he had seen when she had first demanded her brother back.

"What do you mean, 'I'm sorry'?" She gave him a light shake, "You brought us here. Send us back."

He could only shake his head once more and she dropped her hands staring at him in disbelief. Slowly her anger drained to be replaced by something deeper. She just stared at him, and he could not look away. It hurt to look at her.

He felt as though his soul was being ripped in two.

She stepped back, still holding his gaze. "You won't let us go. After all of this, you won't send us home." She shook her head in disbelief. "How – how can you?" she seemed at a loss. He reached to touch her arm and she pulled away, shaking her head violently.

"Kagome-" he was the one pleading now. He just wanted her to understand, but it was so obvious that she did not. She didn't know, she couldn't know.

She looked up at him once more, and what he saw in her eyes nearly broke him. Her eyes were brimming with tears again, but she wouldn't allow them to fall. She was stronger than that. She was hurting, but she was also determined.

"You say you love me?" her voice rose with every word and she gestured with her arm as she spoke, leaning toward him. "If you love me then do what's best for me! Let us go Inuyasha!"

His head dropped even as his own voice rose in anguish and frustration, "I _can't_!" why couldn't she see? Why didn't she understand? "Don't you get it? It's not my choice to make!"

* * *

A/N: Yay! It's on time this week Aren't you happy? It's almost here! The climax, the answers to all the questions! Oh... and theend too... Two chapters and the epilogue to go. Review please!

reenas-as


	14. If Not My Right Then Whose?

Chapter 13: If Not My Right Then Whose?

"And whose choice _is_ it, Inuyasha?" the bitter tinge of skepticism colored the question as she watched him, daring him to answer. But it was not Inuyasha who spoke next.

"Mine." The voice, cold and calm, chilled her to her very core.

"Sesshoumaru." Inuyasha spat the word, his tone pure venom. He whirled from Kagome his whole body tensing. Kagome could practically see the adrenaline coursing through him as his pulse throbbed in his neck.

"Inuyasha…" she wanted to cling to him. He was safe because she knew he wouldn't hurt her - not physically. Somehow she knew he would never allow any harm to come to her if he could help it. She might not be convinced that he loved her, but no one who looked at her as he did could bear to see her injured, that she knew. She forced herself to back toward Souta, sheltering him from the gaze of the regal youkai who had appeared in the room without warning.

"Inuyasha." The demon observed coolly. Though she was frightened Kagome could not help but admire him. He was tall and slender, even pale, but toned and clearly strong. His silver hair was long, falling to his knees, and his eyes were gold though they were as cold as Inuyasha's were fiery. His presence was commanding, nearly overwhelming, and Kagome suddenly remembered what the old bird had said about his feelings toward humans.

Inuyasha shifted into a more protective stance between the new arrival and Kagome, his hand going to the sword at his side. Strange, Kagome had hardly noticed the sword before now.

"You would fight me, Inuyasha?" the older demon looked faintly amused and Kagome shuddered.

"You aren't going to touch her."

A silver brow arched upward, "Did I imply that I wished to?" though Kagome couldn't really say that his inflection changed Sesshoumaru somehow managed to convey in those few words a wealth of things, the foremost being that she wasn't worth his effort. She felt vaguely affronted. She might not be gorgeous, but she wasn't repulsive or anything. He made it sound as though she were a disease.

Inuyasha unsheathed his sword in a fluid motion. Kagome was surprised to see that the sword was old and battered. It couldn't possibly still have enough of an edge to cut anything. And then there was a flare of energy and it had transformed into a sword so large Kagome couldn't believe even Inuyasha could lift it.

Sesshoumaru seemed vaguely amused. "Have you forgotten who taught you to fight, half-breed?"

"Shut up!" Inuyasha lunged toward him, bring the sword down in a stroke that surely would have cleft Sesshoumaru in two… had he still been standing there. But faster than Kagome could blink the demon was gone and had reappeared behind Inuyasha.

"Inuyasha look-"

Inuyasha turned and leapt away before Kagome could finish the warning, just missing the sweep of Sesshoumaru's claws.

"Is she worth dying for Inuyasha?"

"I ain't gonna die!" Inuyasha was running forward again. This time Sesshoumaru did not attempt to elude him. Rather, drew his own sword as the goblin king approached. Blade clashed against blade and the brothers slid across the room on the polished floor. As Inuyasha flew past Kagome he shouted to her.

"Get out of the way!"

Kagome grabbed Souta, who was still disturbingly unresponsive, and dove for the far corner of the room. There she pulled him down into her lap and watched the battle with growing horror.

Inuyasha was strong and fast, but Sesshoumaru met him blow for blow, stroke for stroke.

Inuyasha could hardly think through the red haze of anger that surrounded him. Sesshoumaru had done nothing but torment him his entire life. Inuyasha had become accustomed to that. It didn't bother him; it was simply the way things were. But Sesshoumaru had no right to interfere with Kagome, no right to put her in danger. Though he was trying to concentrate on the battle he could not help but think of her. She was so good, so kind, so… so different form anyone he had ever known. She didn't deserve this, she deserved to be taken care of as she had cared for so many others.

He knew her. So much better than she thought. He had been watching her, through his crystal ball. It was all part of his brother's plan. The ball would show him anything he wanted to see, provided it was within the Labyrinth or the human world. For centuries it had infuriated Inuyasha. He had no interest in humans. Humans were weak and to be despised. Still, when boredom had overcome him he had occasionally sat and observed them through the ball.

It was in one such fit of boredom that he had first encountered Kagome.

Inuyasha had watched many humans over the centuries and none had caught his interest. They struck him as senseless, cruel, and weak. Not that youkai could not also be cruel, Sesshoumaru was evidence enough of that. The thing that really bothered him was that humans professed to be kind. They droned on and on about taking care of those less fortunate and abstract concepts like equality, but they didn't live what they preached. At least demons had no illusions about what they were – they were built to kill. Which wasn't to say that all demons killed all the time, or even that all demons were evil or bad. His father had been good and just by even the strictest of standards, but he had still killed in battle or as punishment. The thing was, he didn't try to run from that fact, he accepted it. Humans couldn't seem to reconcile their noble and baser sides. Humans attempted to hide what they really were, demons had no pretense.

It was weakness and it disgusted him.

Which was, ironically, what had led him to reject his human heritage in the first place. Which was what had gotten him stuck here, observing the beings he most detested.

And it was also what had led him to Kagome.

The first time she had passed into his vision had been a little over a year ago. She had been walking to school, though he hadn't known that at the time. A soccer ball had shot out toward her, hitting her in the legs so hard she stumbled and nearly toppled backwards. As she righted herself and reached down for the ball a woman hurried up to her, bowing apologetically, as though afraid the mere slip of a girl would lash out at her. Inuyasha soon understood the reason for her concern. Behind her, clinging to her legs, was a small boy. This was clearly the culprit. This was not uncommon, children were not known for caution. What made this particular incident special was that the child was horribly deformed. Inuyasha could see it even though the boy's face was pressed to his mother's legs. It was in his stance, the way he carried himself, the gangly-ness of his arms and legs, the way the sinews and tendons stood out strangely twisted and turned. His face was scarred and misshapen. He was probably the victim of a horrible accident, but Inuyasha knew he would be treated like a monster for the rest of his life. Humans lashed out at anyone who was different, especially if that difference made them "ugly".

Humans didn't like to be uncomfortable, and there were so many things that made them feel that way.

Inuyasha had known what to expect. Humans hated anyone who was different. They had hated him after all. The girl's face would turn in pity and then disgust. Reminded of her own frailty she would make a sharp retort or rebuke and walk away. He had started to turn away, but what she did next so shocked him that he froze mid-turn and just watched.

Kagome was smiling. Not that false, forced, smile that didn't quite reach the eyes that humans so often used when they were pretending to be kind. It was a true, sincere smile. Her eyes held no pity, no pain, no malice, just a warm understanding. She bent gently and slowly as though fearing she would frighten the boy and held out the soccer ball. Inuyasha could see her speak a few words to him and the boy shyly stepped out from behind his mother. The girl encouraged him to take the ball but once he had she did not immediately retreat. Instead she knelt so that she was eye level with him and lifted her hands, palm up, toward him. She allowed him to observe her a moment before she bowed and then offered her hand. After a few more coaxing words he took it shyly.

Her smile widened to a full blown grin and soon she had the boy grinning too. The mother looked so relieved Inuyasha could almost smell it.

He was lost. Completely confused.

In all his years of observation he had never seen a human behave in such a way. Could it be she was different from other humans who judged only be appearances and hated those who were different.

Could she be different than the family of his mother, who had scorned him and disowned him for something that he had no control over? His mother had been the only human who had ever loved him- the only human he had ever known who accepted life as it was and didn't try to change it or hide from it. Could Kagome be like her?

He had to find out.

And so he had watched her, sometimes for days on end without stopping to rest. She puzzled him; she drew him – like a moth to flame only he didn't think her warmth was the kind that burned.

She had proved again and again that she was different from anyone he had ever met, from anyone he had ever seen. She could have a temper and she wasn't always sweet, but overall she was incredibly kind and unselfish. After that first day she had gone back to see the little boy in the park at least once a week until the day he had moved away to go to a special treatment hospital. She had hugged him goodbye, and given him a toy to remember her by.

By the time the next school year started watching her had become a daily routine, Inuyasha felt that he was almost a part of her life, even though he couldn't touch her or talk to her. He knew her inside and out, better than any of her friends did. But it wasn't until she had met Hojo that he had realized how much she meant to him.

The first time the human boy had asked her out he had been so angry he had shattered the goblet he had been holding.

It was a very childish reaction, he knew, not at all becoming to a being over six centuries old. But that didn't stop him form feeling angry and betrayed. It had stopped him short. He had never felt this kind of anger before. It hadn't abated even when she had politely turned the boy down. At that point Inuyasha had become obsessed with the ball, foregoing sleep and meals to sit and watch her. Whenever the boy, Hojo, was near her he seethed with barely contained fury. There was a little hurt mixed in as well, and this confused him until he realized with a start that he was jealous.

It was ridiculous. What right did he have to be jealous? She wasn't _his_ – she didn't even know he existed!

And yet, there it was. He was jealous of a stupid human brat that she wasn't even interested in.

And since he wasn't getting anything out of the whole deal except frustration Inuyasha came to the only logical conclusion – he had fallen in love with Kagome.

That had to be the reason he felt this way. It had to be the reason he longed to see her smile, wanted to see her happy, yet felt so hurt when that happiness was caused by others. It was the only explanation for the way his heart felt rent in two each time she cried, and how he longed to hold her when she was sad, comfort her when she was afraid.

There was just no other answer.

Even a lowly hanyou who had never even had a friend could recognize that.

He began to become aware of his own physical reactions to Kagome. He had had them for some time, but he hadn't realized what they meant.

When he saw her his pulse quickened, his breathing became shallower, he could feel his skin heat and his stomach flip strangely. He found her attractive.

If he loved her for who she was _and_ he found her physically attractive… he was definitely in trouble.

It was so stupid. He shouldn't have let himself, he could never be with her, never even meet her, and yet how could he have built defenses against something he hadn't known was a danger? He had never known love, except the love of his mother, so how was he supposed to know he could fall in love?

But he had.

And once he had come to accept this fact life had become nearly unbearable. He was trapped here, there was no hope. And, really, why would she want anything to do with him if they could meet? A scarred child and a half-breed were two very different things. Inuyasha tried to reconcile himself to a love forever unrequited, but it just wasn't in his nature. So he had vowed to stay away from the crystal ball and the images it could bring to him forever. It would be easier to turn away now and wish her happiness in life.

This resolve had lasted about a day.

It was more torture not to see her at all than to watch her from a distance. So Inuyasha had resumed his vigil, though at times the desire to actually meet her was so strong it was a physical pain. He knew he was becoming obsessive, but nothing would ever come of it, so what was the harm? The only person he could hurt was himself.

And then, one day, he fell asleep on his stone throne, watching Kagome play with her little brother, and he awoke with a start.

There was something very wrong, he knew that before he even opened his eyes. The sounds were wrong, the smells were wrong, the very air felt wrong. He didn't appear to be in any danger though, so he slowly peeled his eyes open to find himself in a completely foreign setting. The room around him was decorated in soft pinks, and the furniture beneath him was equally soft in feel. The smell that surrounded him seemed feminine and oddly comforting – he inhaled deeply and felt himself relax. And then his eyes fell on the crowded desk to the left of the bed and he stiffened. He knew this place.

This was Kagome's room.

He was convinced that he was dreaming.

This conviction lasted about ten seconds, until he heard the unmistakable scuffle of feet on stairs, and the sweet voice of Kagome drifted to him.

What had been a guilty but harmless pleasure had suddenly become very dangerous.

Inuyasha felt his body react to her nearness. He wanted to touch her, to hold her. He was aching with the desire.

But he couldn't. She didn't even know he existed. He had to get away before she found him here. There was no telling how she would react to the sight of a strange man lying on her bed.

He heard her reach for the handle and then she had opened it and her room had been empty. Inuyasha had fled to the rooftop, leaving her window open and the curtain fluttering in the gentle breeze.

Kagome cocked her head as she looked at the curtain.

"I could have sworn I closed that." She shrugged. "oh well." And then she moved to the window, peering out and down, but miraculously not upward, before pulling inside and closing it firmly.

Inuyasha thought he would die the relief was so overwhelming. Until he realized that he had no idea how he had come to be here, and no idea how to get back home. He had never thought he would want to go back to that prison once he had gotten out, but this was not his world, he had no idea how to survive here.

Fortunately getting back had been a simpler task than he had feared. Inuyasha soon discovered that he could transport himself between worlds at will, provided he wished to be transported near Kagome or back to his castle. In his mind he frantically searched for a clause in Sesshoumaru's spell that would account for this oddity. Unfortunately he could not recall it, though he was fairly certain it had something to do with reconciling himself to his humanity. Whatever it was Inuyasha soon lost interest in it as he became caught up in the joy of being able to be near Kagome. True he couldn't touch her or let her see him, but now he could smell her, sense her, he felt close to her.

Sometimes he would watch her, other times he would take himself to her room when he knew she would be out and just wrap himself in her scent and her presence.

For the first time in his life he felt truly content.

It wasn't long before he decided that he needed to give something back to her. He couldn't do much, because he didn't want her to get suspicious, but the small things he could do he did. More than one morning Kagome searched frantically through her backpack for homework and come to the sad conclusion that she had forgotten it at home, only to turn and see it sitting atop the haphazard pile of books and papers on her desk. At first it caused her a great deal of confusion, but soon she just accepted it with her usual cheerful easiness.

Inuyasha had begun to do more things as well, though she never knew. He had never done anything blatantly obvious until the night he had whisked away her brother.

He still didn't know why he had done it. And he certainly didn't know why he had revealed himself to her after.

Maybe it was because it was the first time he had ever seen her so upset. But he had just wanted to make everything better. And then she had seemed upset at him and he had nearly lost it. Didn't she know that everything he did was for her? It had been for a long time now. He lived to see her face, to breathe her scent. He would have been angry with her for not knowing if she hadn't been so soft, and real, and _there_. And he could finally talk to her, finally _touch_ her. And she hadn't been repulsed, only sweetly confused and adorably upset. _And he loved her so much._

Inuyasha was drawn from his thoughts by the clank of metal on metal. He looked up to find Sesshoumaru staring at him knowingly.

"Have you learned? Are you willing to admit it?"

"Admit what you arrogant jerk!" Inuyasha advanced once more.

"Do you still not understand?" It was infuriating that Sesshoumaru could be so calm in the middle of a fight like this. Sesshoumaru leaned close to him, "This is what you are." And in the space of a breath he had pulled away and Inuyasha stumbled in confusion before turning to see Sesshoumaru standing calmly to the side, sheathing his blade.

"This emotion, this passion." Sesshoumaru was observing him coolly, "this intensity that burns within you. You can harness it, if you will lonely embrace it. It can make you stronger, why do you allow it to make you weaker?"

And Inuyasha could only look at him. Inuyasha could have sworn that Sesshoumaru almost sighed. Then he unsheathed his blade once more. Inuyasha readied himself, but Sesshoumaru turned the opposite direction.

"Prepare, Inuyasha." And then he was flying toward Kagome and Inuyasha didn't even have time to think. With a speed he hadn't known he possessed he crossed the room and placed himself between Sesshoumaru and Kagome. Kagome flinched and ducked her head, pulling Souta closer as Sesshoumaru's claws and then sword swung toward Inuyasha. Inuyasha ignored the claws, allowing them to pierce his right arm, his eyes were focused on the blade descending toward Kagome. He brought up his sword with his left hand and Sesshoumaru's blade impacted and went flying out of his hand and across the room.

"Now do you see?" Sesshoumaru remained unmoved, staring into Inuyasha's eyes.

And Inuyasha finally understood. The lesson Sesshoumaru had wanted him to learn, the thing he needed to do to free himself. It was his refusal to accept who he truly was. That very thing for which he abhorred humanity – it was that which his brother abhorred in him. Inuyasha wasn't a full demon, he was half human. He couldn't change that, but he shouldn't ignore it either. If he refused to acknowledge his human half then he cast away half his strength. He was what he was, it had not been his choice, but he could make it his gift or his curse, and he had chosen to make it his curse. He had always longed for the cool implacability of his father and brother. He had even fought his love for Kagome, seeing it as weakness. But his human blood made that impossible. A human soul brought with it human emotions. But those emotions didn't have to cripple him. They could empower him.

Sesshoumaru calmly walked to his blade, retrieving it and returning it to its place at his hip.

"Kagome." Inuyasha dropped to his knees before her. She heard him even though he could barely hear himself, and her gaze locked with his.

"I'm sorry." He whispered sliding his right hand along her cheek and up into her hair behind her ear, cradling it.

Her gaze moved to the blood on his sleeve and she reached up to push it back in panic, but he caught her hand.

He shook his head, bringing her hand into his lap. "It's already healed."

She watched him for a long moment before nodding.

"I'm sorry." He repeated softly.

"For what?"

He gave the faintest of smiles. Always unconcerned for herself, even now. He wondered that he had ever thought she would really wish her brother gone. He knew her better than to believe her to truly be that selfish. She had only been angry.

"For all of this. I never meant for it to happen."

She sighed, covering his hand in her hair with her own. "I know. I can see that now." And she could. He had risked his life for her; he could just as easily have let her die. Thinking back she could see his hand in things that had happened to her in the Labyrinth. Even when he had had her arrested he had only been trying to protect her.

"I love you." He whispered, his face very close to hers. "And I want you to be happy," he swallowed, resting his forehead against hers, "even if it means I'll never see you again."

"I know." It was all she could think to say. She couldn't say that she loved him, she didn't know him. But she had a feeling that she could love him if she was given the chance. It would be so easy… She slid her head down to rest on his shoulder and he buried his face in her neck. Souta lay forgotten between them, his head on his sister's lap. Inuyasha slowly slid his arms around Kagome, pulling her to him and for the first time in his life he made no attempt to curb the emotions rising within him, he embraced them wholeheartedly.

The cold, smooth voice of Sesshoumaru filled the room, "It would seem that you have learned your lesson at last, Inuyasha."

Inuyasha and Kagome both looked up in surprise and then Kagome was fading and Inuyasha was left clutching at air and nothing.

"I have returned the girl and her brother to their own world." Sesshoumaru informed Inuyasha before he could ask.

Inuyasha clenched his fist so hard it bled, the sharp tang of copper filling the air. His head was bowed; face half shadowed by his unruly white bangs. He had risen to one knee.

"You had no right-"

Sesshoumaru coolly interrupted, "If not my right then whose?"

* * *

A/N: Oooohhhh! I love that scene... and Sesshoumaru is such a brat... any further questions about Inuyasha's past and his relationship with Sesshy will be explained next chapter. Only 1 chapter and the epilogue left! Sorry this is late. I got caught up with final performances. I only got three hours of sleep last night - and Iam _so_ a nine hours of sleep kind of girl.

Reenas-as


	15. That I Leave to You

Chapter 14: That I Leave to You

So close. He had been so close. She understood now, he knew she did. He could have told her the whole story, could have held her, could have convinced her. She would have listened; she could have loved him, could have ended all of this. _So_ many people would have been freed of his curse. And Sesshoumaru had destroyed that chance with a wave of his too elegant hand. And all Inuyasha could do was stare at the place where Kagome had been just a moment before.

Inuyasha looked up at his older brother, a slow burning rage building within him. "_Your right_?" he shouted, jumping to his feet. "And who gave you the right? Who said you could mess with _my_ life."

Sesshoumaru watched him impassively, "You did not wish the girl to go free?"

Inuyasha looked down at his feet, concentrating on breathing; his palms were still bleeding. "She would have been free anyway, right? That was the point of this whole stupid exercise. I was supposed to learn my lesson and then all this," he waved his hand haphazardly indicating the room, "all of this insanity was supposed to go away. They were all to go free, _I_ was to go free. But that isn't what happened!"

"It isn't?"

Inuyasha blinked up at Sesshoumaru, stopped short by the bland question.

"Did it?" he asked.

Sesshoumaru gave the slightest, most delicate of snorts. His hands disappeared into his sleeves as he folded his arms, "This Sesshoumaru does not go back on his word."

Inuyasha looked around the room, his brow furrowed in confusion. "But… I embraced my humanity, my _emotions_ and… it's still here." He pointed out, feeling a little stupid because he was evidently missing something, and his brother was just so insufferably arrogant.

"Indeed." Sesshoumaru observed. "Apparently so."

Inuyasha actually growled at him and Sesshoumaru quirked a brow. The pup had the insolence to approach him, pressing his face to Sesshoumaru's.

"Why is it still here, Sesshoumaru?" he ground out, very low.

"It is stone and earth, Inuyasha. It will remain until it is worn to dust. The magic that held you here is gone however. As is all the magic which ruled this place. The Labyrinth is no danger to anyone now."

Inuyasha stumbled back, his rigid stance melting until he seemed almost limp. His face lost its anger and became blank. "What do I do now?" he whispered, almost to himself.

Sesshoumaru smirked, "That I leave to you, brother."

And it wasn't until he was gone that Inuyasha realized it was the first time Sesshoumaru had called him brother in over six hundred years.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

It hadn't been Inuyasha's fault, his being a half-breed. That blame could only be laid upon his father and the human he had bedded. Sesshoumaru had never held it against the pup; he had even taught him to fight when he became of age. He wasn't certain he had quite forgiven his father though. After all, the pup was bound to be moody, he was half human, but their father was the strongest demon alive – what excuse had he for falling in love with a human?

Still, Sesshoumaru had never had a problem with Inuyasha while the boy was growing up. He had found it somewhat amusing, the way the boy looked up to him and strove to be like him. That was, he had found it amusing to a point.

When Inuyasha had entered into his first century, however, it became apparent to Sesshoumaru that there was a problem.

Inuyasha was not full demon and nothing would ever change that. Yet the boy refused to accept his limitations, refused to accept anything about his human heritage. He seemed determined to ignore that half of himself entirely. As a warrior Sesshoumaru knew that anything about oneself that one ignored could be exploited. A warrior must know all aspects of himself fully, especially his weaknesses. Weaknesses must be turned to strength. To completely cut away a part of oneself was to invite ruin. The boy was in enough danger without engaging in such stupid and childish behavior.

Sesshoumaru had been willing to go so far as to discuss the issue with their father, but then he had died, leaving his titles and power split between his two sons.

This did not bother Sesshoumaru in and of itself. The title given to himself held the most real power, Inuyasha was more of a figure head. The trouble was that it made him even more of a target than his birth did. There were countless demons who wanted the title, and the fact that Inuyasha was only half demon made him a tempting target.

The boy fought well enough, and Sesshoumaru knew he had the potential to defeat any who would oppose him, even the strongest of demons. The trouble was that Inuyasha could never realize that potential so long as he kept half of himself locked away. How could a man who essentially hated himself love his own life enough to protect it?

Something had to be done, but now Sesshoumaru had no father with whom to discuss the issue, and the pup's mother was long gone. So he had gone instead to the old tree who had been his father's advisor for many centuries.

It was with this trusted advisor that he had devised the Labyrinth.

Even after his mind was made up and his course set it had taken him several years to complete the project. This was a heavier magic than he had ever attempted and he needed it to be self sustaining. By the time he was finished the spells were so complex that even he had some difficulty keeping track of all the details and the Labyrinth had taken on a life of its own.

It was then that he had lured his brother into the castle and sealed him there.

He did not doubt that Inuyasha, and the rest of the world, saw this as punishment. He knew well that other demons thought he was jealous, angry at having to share his title and power. It was beneath him to pay heed to such rumors so he made no attempt to set the record straight. Let the fools believe what they wished.

It was only later that he realized he had made an error.

It was nearly unthinkable. He did not make errors. And yet he had. He had overlooked one thing so very small and yet so very important.

He had forgotten that the title Inuyasha bore required him to be an arbitrator for the lower demons and that the two titles were meant to be one. Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru were essentially two halves of one ruler. And so, the barriers he had erected to keep out all other demons became cracked the moment he left Inuyasha in the castle alone. As long as he was outside the walls of the Labyrinth lower level demons could get in.

His only option was to remain in the castle himself. But even if it were possible, if he had not had lands to maintain and peoples to rule, he would not have done that. It would have defeated the entire purpose. Inuyasha would not face his humanity unless he had no other choice, and Sesshoumaru knew from experience that boredom was the only true motivating factor in Inuyasha's life. To return to the Labyrinth would be to offer Inuyasha a distraction, and this he refused to do.

Instead Sesshoumaru consoled himself that the barriers around the castle itself remained strong. Demons could not get in and Inuyasha could not get out. It was enough, if only Inuyasha would open his eyes…

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Inuyasha had never understood life. There wasn't one thing about it that made sense to him. As a child he had been too innocent, too protected to notice much outside of himself. His world consisted of himself, his mother, and occasionally his father. But as he got older he began to notice things. Like the fact that he was different from everyone else in their castle. He noticed other things too, like the fact that even the lowliest servant seemed to look down on him. He thought it might be because they were demons, but then he had discovered that his mother's people hated him too.

He knew they all hated him because he had been told they did.

He hadn't been told by his mother or father, of course. It had been a boy from his mother's family. He still remembered that day clearly. The other children had been playing with a ball. Inuyasha had never had any companions his own age and he eagerly tried to join in. But the other children picked up the ball and moved away from him. He had followed and then one boy, the one holding the ball, had turned back and sneered at him.

"Fetch doggie." He had called jeeringly before throwing the ball far from Inuyasha. Inuyasha had watched it in confusion for several seconds before turning his attention back to the other children, they were snickering. His ear twitched in confusion. The ring leader had his fists propped on his hips.

"Stupid half-breed. No one wants you around. Everyone hates you because you're stupid."

And then they had all walked away, and he had let them go.

They hated him because he was stupid?

He didn't _think_ he was stupid.

He could already read and write and he knew numbers. Most people didn't know those things.

But he didn't know how to play the games the other children did. And sometimes he accidentally broke stuff, so maybe he _was_ stupid. Maybe that was why his parents didn't let him play with other kids, because he embarrassed them.

Whatever the reason Inuyasha quickly learned that humans would never accept him.

And then there were the demons. Demons didn't make fun of him or call him names – they just tried to kill him. The first time had been when he was sixteen. He hadn't looked sixteen of course; by the age of twelve his body had already slowed its physical progression. It was only natural since demons, and presumably hanyous, lived so long. One of his father's vassals had attacked him in the forest.

Fortunately for Inuyasha his father had been nearby. That night he had heard his parents talking about it. The other demons thought he was a sign of his father's weakness.

And Inuyasha finally thought he understood something.

Humans were weak.

They hated him because he was stronger than they were, and demons hated him because he was weaker than they were.

So all he had to do was become the strongest of all. Then he would be respected by demons and it wouldn't matter what humans thought at all because he would be able to crush anyone who ridiculed him.

That was when he had met his older brother, Sesshoumaru.

When Inuyasha had first seen Sesshoumaru he had been in awe. Sesshoumaru looked very much like their father, but because he lacked the warmth of Inutaisho he seemed even more regal and commanding. Everyone was afraid of Sesshoumaru, even people who weren't afraid of his father. Inuyasha was glad when Sesshoumaru informed his parents that he had come to train him. Inuyasha wanted to be strong and feared, just like Sesshoumaru. He might have to work very hard, since he had to overcome his human blood, but he was determined to do all he could to become stronger.

Inuyasha had observed Sesshoumaru carefully, not just during their combat lessons. He observed the way Sesshoumaru walked, the way he gestured, the way he spoke. He especially watched the way Sesshoumaru dealt with other people. It seemed to him that Sesshoumaru didn't care what anyone thought of him: those who were useful he used, and those who were not he ignored. Sesshoumaru ignored almost all humans, unless they were in his way and refused to move – then he killed them. Inuyasha decided that maybe he could ignore humans too.

It was easy to imitate Sesshoumaru's fighting style. Inuyasha had inherited the fluid grace of his father and he was a quick study. It was much more difficult to imitate his bearing. Sesshoumaru had all the emotional depth of a block of ice. But Inuyasha found that he had difficulty locking away his emotions. Even in battle he was often distracted. Sesshoumaru was constantly reprimanding him, reminding him to stay focused.

Inuyasha thought that meant that he needed to find total calm, to become totally devoid of emotion, like his brother. But Sesshoumaru confused him as much as life did. Sesshoumaru began to tell him to focus his anger, to make it sharpen his mind, but Inuyasha didn't know how to do that. And he didn't see the point. Emotions were a human weakness, if he was going to achieve his goal he had to purge himself of all of that. Sesshoumaru had no emotions, so why did he want Inuyasha to have them?

By the time Inutaisho died Inuyasha was thoroughly frustrated. No matter how hard he tried he couldn't ignore his emotions. And Sesshoumaru seemed to have given up on him entirely.

And then Sesshoumaru had locked him away in the Labyrinth.

Of all the things in life that made no sense, this made the least sense of all.

What really confused him was that Sesshoumaru's parting words to him had been "until you embrace your humanity you will never find your strength."

Inuyasha had puzzled over this a long time. Not at first of course, at first he had been too angry to think. He and Sesshoumaru had never been close. Not even in the years the elder demon had trained him. He knew Sesshoumaru didn't _love_ him. But he hadn't thought Sesshoumaru had anything against him either. After many years the burning anger he felt had been pushed to the back of his mind, ever present but no longer all-consuming, and he had begun to mull over his brother's final words to him.

It confused him more than anything else ever had. The one constant in Inuyasha's life had been the knowledge that demons were strong and humans were weak. He had to be strong, and to do that he had to abandon his humanity. It had been so simple, and it had been a part of his life for over a century. But now Sesshoumaru was saying that that had been wrong. But Sesshoumaru was a demon, and demons disdained humans. How many times had his sensitive ears picked up the whispers of the servants? How many times had he heard them blame his father's declining power on the human woman he had mated? How many times had he been told that he was weak? How many humans had Sesshoumaru killed without thought?

So why did Sesshoumaru want him to be human?

In six hundred years he had never figured it out.

Until he had met Kagome.

Kagome was human, but she was everything that was good and strong in humanity. Kagome had survived the Labyrinth. She had taught him that there were some things about humanity that he could respect. But that hadn't made him understand Sesshoumaru's words.

When Sesshoumaru had threatened Kagome Inuyasha had felt a rush of emotion such as he had never experienced before. Panic, pain, anger, love – they had all welled up in him so quickly that he had acted instinctively. It didn't matter that he wasn't impassive or level headed; all that had been important was getting to Kagome before Sesshoumaru did.

He hadn't even felt the pain of Sesshoumaru's claws piercing his arm.

And then Sesshoumaru had given him that look. It was as if he was trying to bore into Inuyasha's mind and impart to him some revelation. He looked… almost proud.

And Inuyasha suddenly realized what he had done.

Sesshoumaru had not been holding back. Inuyasha had outrun him, even though Sesshoumaru had the lead.

Inuyasha had never outrun Sesshoumaru in his life.

And then a second thought.

He had just disarmed Sesshoumaru.

As far as Inuyasha knew no one had ever lived to make that claim.

Words from his youth echoed through his mind. "Harness your anger, your fear, make them your weapon instead of your weakness."

How many times had Sesshoumaru told him that? And he had never understood – until now.

Now he saw that these things were a part of who he was. He could not ignore them, could not cleanse himself of them. He could use them, or he could allow himself to be crippled by them.

And if he could use those emotions, then he didn't' have to be afraid of other emotions either.

The other demons had said his father was weak for loving a human.

But Sesshoumaru was the strongest demon he knew, and Sesshoumaru did not seem to agree.

Inuyasha had looked down at Kagome, and the world had suddenly made sense. In that moment he knew that he could face anything that happened, because he could rely on both his humanity and his demon heritage to see him through. He could be the best of both worlds instead of the worst. He could be what she needed, but even if she refused him he could still be worthy of her.

He would be, even if it meant losing her.

After all, what good was it to hold on to her if she was unhappy?

And she had understood all the things he couldn't say and couldn't explain. And she had accepted him as no one else had.

And then she was gone and he was once again left reeling by his brother's parting words.

"I leave that to you…"

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

A/N: Ta Da! And now you know what happened. I love Sess in this chapter... And there is now only the epilogue left. Please review! See you next week.

Is it just me or are the divider bars not working?

reenas-as


	16. Life, Which Imitates Dreams

Epilogue: Life, Which Imitates Dreams

Kagome awoke with a feeling of panic.

There was a demon and he had a sword… and he had been trying to kill her…

And then her brain caught up with her body and she realized that she was lying on the couch in her living room with no crazy, albeit gorgeous, demons in sight.

For a moment Kagome was thoroughly confused. And then everything came rushing back to her and she pressed a hand to her heart.

A dream? Could it have all been just a dream?

She cast a glance at the TV where the credits of the movie Labyrinth were rolling and she frowned.

It had been less than two hours since her fight with Souta. So then it must have been a dream…

Except that it had felt so real, and, all evidence to the contrary, Kagome still had a terrifying suspicion that if she looked upstairs she would find Souta missing.

Kagome jerked upright and pounded up the stairs. She yanked open the door to Souta's room and nearly sobbed with relief when she saw his unruly dark hair sticking out from under the covers. Heedless of the fact that he was sleeping she flung herself to the bed and pounced on him, hugging him closely.

"Kagome?" he asked sleepily, pulling back to rub his eyes, "what is wrong with you?"

"I'm so sorry Souta!" she sobbed, clinging to him and he awkwardly placed his arms around her, staring down at the top of her head in confusion. "I didn't mean it, I'm so sorry!"

"It's okay, sis. I know you didn't mean any of it. You were just mad at mom." Souta was more than a little confused, but he knew sisters could get very emotional. He had learned _something_ in eleven years of living with one after all.

"I know," she was still crying, "and I'm so sorry. I love you Souta. Don't ever leave me!"

"Uhhh…" now he was seriously worried about her mental health, "okay Kagome. I won't leave you. But… you know, someday we might decide to get married or something – to other people, you know – and you might not want me hanging around on your honeymoon…"

"This isn't funny Souta!"

Souta pulled back and studied her seriously. "Okay sis, I love you too. And I won't leave, I promise." He patted her hand lightly, "But… maybe you should get some rest now." He offered.

Kagome sniffed and shook her head.

"In a little bit, I need to clean up downstairs before mom gets home."

"Okay," Souta shrugged and snuggled back down into his covers. "Goodnight sis."

"Night, Souta."

By the time Kagome had the dishes put away and the living room straightened up she was fairly convinced that she really had been dreaming. After all, Souta didn't seem to remember any of it, and it was obviously still the same night. She had just fallen asleep on the couch while watching the movie. Her guilt and turbulent emotions, coupled with the strikingly similar event at the start of the movie had caused her to dream that she was in a similar situation.

There were no such things as demons and hanyous and homicidal Labyrinths. There weren't lecherous monks with holes in their hands, or demon slayers with pet fire cats, or tiny fox kits with human faces and magic powers. Kagome was practically an adult, she knew better.

And now that she had convinced herself of that she was starting to feel a little silly, and a lot safer.

That would teach her to get all worked up after eating a bowl of cheetos and cheese nips.

Kagome brushed her teeth and headed for her room, pushing back her bangs wearily as she entered her bedroom and closed the door behind her. She fumbled for the light switch, her eyelids heavy – maybe she needed more sleep? It was kind of late…

The light flipped on and Kagome's heart caught in her throat.

There, sitting cross legged in the middle of her bed was a man in red clothing with silver hair and golden eyes and puppy ears twitching atop his head.

"Oy, wench, what took you so long?" he groused.

Kagome blinked at him and he cocked his head watching her curiously.

Kagome remembered to breathe again. She took a slow, dazed step forward.

And then she launched herself into his arms and clung to him, sobbing into his shirt.

It hadn't been a dream, it had been real. And it had been terrifying, except that it hadn't _all_ been terrifying. Some of it had been wonderful, and she had made such good friends. And Inuyasha was _here_ which meant that they were all _free_. And he had protected her and he _loved_ her, and he'd come back to _find_ her, and no one had ever done anything like that for her. And it would be so, so, so, easy to love him, because she already cared about him so much even though she didn't really understand why. But she didn't have too, because he was _here_, and she had all the time she needed to figure it out.

He had wrapped his arms around her and his face was buried in her hair. He breathed in deeply, loving the scent of her and the way it warmed him.

"Miss me?" he asked, and she could hear just a hint of a smile in his voice.

She pulled back, "I thought it was a dream; I thought I'd never see you again."

"Keh," he snorted, brushing her hair gently from her face and tucking it behind her ear, "can't get rid of me that easily. I'm free now, and I don't ever intend to let you out of my sight again." He stopped and looked away, suddenly shy. "That is, if you'll let me." He amended.

Kagome grinned. "I don't know," she teased, "you did put me through an awful lot."

He looked chagrinned, "I know. And I had no right. I'm sorry."

"Mm hmm." Kagome pulled away and placed a finger to her chin, pretending to think. "I think you should make it up to me."

"What do you want?" his eagerness almost made her feel ashamed to be teasing him like this. "I'll do anything."

"Anything?" her smile widened when he nodded; she leaned forward and lifted his chin, her eyes sparkling. "Will you sing 'Frere Jaque' for me?"

Inuyasha's ear twitched. He didn't know what 'Frere Jaque' was, but he knew that look. "Oy, are you playing games with me, Kagome?" he asked with just a touch of irritation.

She smiled, "Maybe."

He growled playfully, "better watch it." His ears twitched again as she laughed and he saw her eyes train on them. Slowly her hand reached out and gave one ear a tentative caress. Inuyasha leaned into the contact, his eyes drifting closed, a low growl evidencing his enjoyment. Kagome blushed but rubbed the ear once more. It was so soft.

"I'm sorry Inuyasha, I shouldn't have teased you like that." And she shouldn't have. She knew he felt bad enough. Reluctantly she lowered her hand and then her breath caught as Inuyasha snagged it in mid air and drew it to his chest.

"I forgive you, Kagome." He smiled, "but you can make it up to me."

"How?"

Her eyes widened as he gave her hand a tug causing her to fall against him. His face was hovering over hers and he was staring at her lips. "Like this." He whispered, and then he was claiming her mouth with his own, kissing her tenderly and fiercely all at once, his hand tangling in her hair, his body pressed to hers. And Kagome thought that she could get used to this.

But it might take her the rest of their lives…

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

A/N: Well, I hear the dividers are working fine... but they still won't work for me. Anyway, it is the end, it is happy, and I even worked in a kiss (finally!) GO ME! I hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it, and no there won't be a sequel so don't ask. I'm not really into sequels much. Too many new ideas demanding attention. In fact, I really need to finish the Cardcaptor story I've been working on for two years. I really like it, and I want it to see the light of day sometime, even if no one else cares about CCS anymore... Send me a parting review. I love you all!

reenas-as


End file.
